Maharashtra bill against unfair practices in competitive examinations: 5 years in jail

The Maharashtra government on Friday introduced a bill to prevent the use of unfair means in competitive examinations, with a provision for imprisonment of up to five years.

“There is currently no specific substantive law to address the unfair means adopted or the offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of competitions. It is therefore imperative that elements that exploit the vulnerabilities of the examination system are identified and effectively addressed by comprehensive national legislation,” the explanatory memorandum states.

The bill was introduced in the Maharashtra Assembly by Minister Shambhuraj Desai.

The objective of the Maharashtra Competitive Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 is to bring more transparency, fairness and credibility to the competitive examination system and reassure the youth that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their future is secure.

The main features of the bill are to clarify the duties of traffic officers, impose liability on service providers and other persons associated with them, provide for penalties for offences committed and severe penalties for organised crimes and authorise officers with at least the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police to investigate the offence.

Festive offer

According to the bill, any violation of this law will be punishable with a term of three years which may extend to five years and a fine which may extend to Rs 10 lakh. The service provider will be liable to a fine which may extend to Rs 1 crore and the proportionate cost of the examination will be recovered and the service provider will be disqualified for four years. The person responsible for the service provider will be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and a fine which may extend to Rs 1 crore.

Earlier in the week, the opposition had demanded that the government come up with a law against malpractices in competitive examinations on the lines of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the bill would be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session.