Outrage over paper leaks: What does Indian law say against using unfair means in exams? | News explained

UGC-NET, which has been taken by over 9 lakh candidates across 317 cities, is the qualifying exam for admission to PhD programs and for applying for an entry-level teaching position in an Indian university.

What is India’s Unjust Means Act, what specific offenses does it cover and what penalties does it provide?

What is the Indian law against using unfair means in public examinations?

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the 17th Lok Sabha on February 5. It was passed the next day and by the Rajya Sabha on February 9.

The bill aims to prevent “unfair means” in order to “bring more transparency, fairness and credibility to the public examination system”.

What is meant by the use of “unfair means” during an examination?

Section 3 of the law lists at least 15 actions that amount to using unfair means during public examinations “for monetary or unjustified gain.”

These actions include: “leaking the questionnaire or answer key or any part thereof” and colluding in such leaking; “access or take possession of an optical mark recognition questionnaire or answer sheet without authorization”; “falsification of answer sheets, in particular optical mark recognition answer sheets”; “provide a solution to one or more questions asked by any unauthorized person during a public examination” and “directly or indirectly assist the candidate” during a public examination.

The section also lists “falsification of any document necessary for the screening of candidates or finalization of the merit or rank of a candidate”; “tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or computer system”; “creating fake website” and “conducting fake exams, issuing fake admit cards or offering letters to cheat or for monetary gain” are illegal acts.

Which examinations are “public examinations” within the meaning of the Act?

Under Section 2(k), a “public review” is defined as any review conducted by a “public review authority” listed in the Schedule to the Act, or by any “other authority that may be notified by the central government.

The timetable lists five public examination authorities: (i) the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the Civil Services Examination, Combined Defense Services Examinations, Combined Examination of medical services, review of engineering services, etc. ; (ii) the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), which recruits for Group C (non-technical) and Group B (non-gazetted) jobs in the central government; (iii) Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), which recruit Group C and Group D personnel in the Indian Railways; (iv) the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), which recruits at all levels for nationalized banks and regional rural banks (RRBs); and (v) the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts JEE (Main), NEET-UG, UGC-NET, Common University Entrance Test (CUET), etc.

Apart from these designated authorities for public examinations, all “ministries or departments of the central government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of personnel” also come under the ambit of the new law.

The central government may add new authorities in the schedule through notification, as required.

What sanction does the law provide for violations?

Section 9 of the Act states that all offenses must be cognizable, non-bailable and non-cumulative – meaning an arrest can be made without a warrant and release on bail will not be a question of law; rather, it is a magistrate who will determine whether the accused is fit to be released on bail.

A non-cumulable offense is one for which the complaint cannot be withdrawn by the complainant even when the complainant and the accused have reached a compromise, and a trial must necessarily follow.

The punishment for “any person or persons resorting to unfair means and crimes” can be three to five years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. If the convict fails to pay the fine, “further imprisonment shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” says section 10(1).

Under section 10(2), a service provider engaged to provide “support of any IT resource or hardware, by whatever name” for the conduct of the examination may be fined up to going up to Rs 1 crore, as well as a fine of up to Rs 1 crore. other penalties.

The law provides for harsher penalties in cases of organized document leaks, where “organized crime” is defined as illegal activity of a group of persons conspiring in a conspiracy “to pursue or promote a common interest with a view to an unfair gain in the context of a public examination”. .

Section 11(1) states that the punishment for organized crime shall be “imprisonment of not less than five years but which may extend to ten years” and a fine “which shall not be less than one crore rupees”.

Why has the government introduced this bill?

There have been a huge number of cases of leaked question papers in recruitment exams across the country in recent years – the UGC-NET leak and the numerous questions raised on NEET-UG in recent weeks are part of this same unfortunate trend.

Before these recent incidents, an investigation by The Indian Express had revealed at least 48 cases of paper leaks in 16 states over the last five years, in which the hiring process for government jobs was disrupted. The leaks have affected the lives of at least 1.51 crore candidates for around 1.2 lakh posts.

The statement of objects and reasons for the bill said: “Poor practices in public examinations lead to delays and cancellations of examinations, negatively impacting the prospects of millions of young people. At present, there is no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offenses committed…It is imperative that elements that exploit vulnerabilities in the examination system are identified and dealt with effectively through central legislation overall.

The statement added: “The aim of the Bill is to bring greater transparency, fairness and credibility to public examination systems and to reassure young people that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and that their future is secure.

“The bill seeks to effectively and legally deter individuals, organized groups or institutions that engage in various unfair means and harm public examination systems for monetary or undue gains.”

He clarified that “the candidate as defined in the bill will not be responsible for actions falling within the scope of the bill and will continue to be covered by the existing administrative provisions of the examining authority public concerned”.

This is a revised and updated version of an explainer first published on February 6, 2024.