Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 that has provision for up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for malpractices and organised cheating in government recruitment exams was notified by the Union government to come into effect from Friday.
The UGC-NET 2024 examination that was cancelled on June 19 on grounds of being compromised and is being investigated by the CBI will however not be covered by the newly enacted law.
A notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central government hereby appoints the 21st day of June, 2024 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
List of offences
The Act mentions punishments for
“leakage of question paper or answer key”,
“directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination” and
“tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system”
creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain
conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain
manipulation in seating arrangements
Any person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years but which may extend to five years and with fine up to ₹10 lakh
All offences under the Act will be cognisable and non-bailable
A service provider, engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of examinations, shall also be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to ₹1 crore and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered
During the investigation, if it is established that any senior official from the service provider had allowed or was involved in committing the offence, he will face imprisonment for a minimum of three years, which can go up to 10 years along with the fine
Such service providers shall also be barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination for a period of four years.
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