President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024. This bill aims to curb cheating in government recruitment exams. The Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament during the Budget session, which ended on February 10. It aims to prohibit the use of “unfair means” in public examinations and promote “enhanced transparency, fairness, and credibility.”
The President granted approval on February 12th, 2024 and it will be enforced on a date determined by the Central Government through notification in the Official Gazette. The public examinations outlined in the Act pertain to examinations administered by authorities designated by the central government. These include the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board, National Testing Agency, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection and departments of the central government along with their affiliated offices for recruitment purposes.
“Unfair means” in public examinations refers to actions undertaken “for monetary or wrongful gain.” This encompasses activities such as leaking question papers, colluding in their leakage, unauthorized access to or possession of question papers or Optical Mark Recognition response sheets, tampering with answer sheets (including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets), providing solutions to questions by unauthorized individuals during a public examination, and offering direct or indirect assistance to candidates during such examinations.
If service provider offenses are proven to have occurred with the consent or connivance of directors or senior management, they will be personally liable. Punishment includes imprisonment for 3 to 10 years and a Rs 1 crore fine. The Act delineates stiffer penalties for organized crimes, which are defined as unlawful acts perpetrated by individuals or groups to advance a mutual interest for illicit gains in connection with public examinations. Offenders of organized crimes will face imprisonment ranging from five to ten years, along with a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore. If an institution is found culpable of engaging in organized crime, its assets will be seized and forfeited, and a proportionate examination cost will be recovered from it.
All violations under the Bill will be deemed cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. No action will be deemed an offense if it can be demonstrated that the accused acted with due diligence. Investigations into offenses under the Act will be conducted by an officer, not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police. The central government retains the authority to transfer investigations to any central investigating agency.
The bill as introduced in the Parliament, can be accessed HERE.