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Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024

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News

• The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 has received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu and it was passed by the Parliament in the 2024 Budget session.

About the Bill

• About:
  • The purpose of the bill is to stop unfair exam practices in public examinations;
  • The Bill talks about the ‘Public examinations’ which are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board, National Testing Agency, and central government departments.
• Bill’s Intention:
  • The Bill aims to forbid any kind of collusion or plot to enable the use of unfair methods;
  • These methods can include unauthorized access to or disclosure of a question paper or answer key, aiding a candidate in a public examination, manipulating computer networks, holding fictitious exams, and creating phony offer letters and admit cards.
• Bill Objectives: The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that public examination systems are more transparent, equitable, and credible. It also aims to reassure young people that their efforts will be duly acknowledged and that their future is secure.
• Who are Candidates according to the Bill: The Bill’s definition of a candidate will shield them from legal action, and they will still be protected by the current administrative rules of the relevant public examination body.
• The Bill’s Section 3:
  • It enumerates at least fifteen acts that constitute using unfair tactics in open examinations in order to obtain money or other improper influence;
  • These offenses include giving answers to questions by any unauthorized person during a public exam, leaking question papers, answer keys, or portions of them, and obtaining question papers or OMR response sheets without authorization;
  • The section also lists the following as illegal acts: creating a fake website, issuing fake offer letters or admit cards to cheat or for financial gain, tampering with any document required for shortlisting candidates or determining the merit or rank of a candidate.
• Punishment According to the Bill: Under the terms of the Bill, an offense will result in a fine of up to one crore rupees and a term of imprisonment ranging from three to ten years. Under the Bill, there will be no bail, no compounding, and cognisable offenses only. Various provisions:
  • Section 9 of the Bill: According to the Bill’s Section 9, all offenses will be punishable by law, not subject to bail, and not subject to compounding and police are required to look into cases involving cognizable offenses without the magistrate’s consent.
  • Non compundable Offences: An offense that is not compoundable means that even after the complainant and the accused have reached a settlement, the case cannot be dropped and a trial is required. It implies that an arrest can be made without a warrant and that granting bail will not be a matter of right; rather, the accused’s suitability for release on bond will be decided by a magistrate.
  • Penalties: It is for “any person or persons can be fined up to Rs 10 lakh and sentenced to three to five years in prison.” “An additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, in accordance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023,” if the convicted party fails to pay the fine.
  • Penalties for the Service Suppliers: A service provider hired by the public examination authority to administer exams may also face penalties of up to Rs 1 crore in addition to having the examination costs recovered from it in proportion, should the service provider engage in unethical behavior.
  • Investigating Officers: Officers not lower than the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police are required by the bill to conduct investigations into offenses covered by the proposed law.

Source: Newsonair & prsindia.org

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