The paper leak law was implemented in the country on Friday to prevent cases of leakage of question papers of all competitive examinations for admission in educational institutions and recruitment in jobs. The paper leak law was passed in February this year. The government issued its notification on Friday. It has been named ‘Public Examination Act 2024’. After its implementation, there is a provision of three to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for using unfair means in public examinations. There is a provision of a fine of up to Rs one crore for committing such a crime in an organized manner.
Strict action against officials also in case of paper leak
According to the provisions of this law, if during the ongoing investigation regarding the paper leak, it is decided that the examination service provider was already aware of the irregularities during the examination and despite this they did not do anything, then in such a situation a fine of up to Rs one crore can be imposed on the examination service provider. Also, if during the investigation, evidence is found that any senior officer is also involved in the incident, then they can be jailed for up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore can also be imposed.
Not only this, if the examination authority or service provider commits any organized crime, then the jail term will be a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10 years, and the fine will be ₹ 1 crore. The notification issued by the government mentions the Indian Judicial Code but it also states that the provisions of the Indian Penal Code will remain in force till its implementation.
When did the government pass the bill?
‘Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024’ i.e. Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024 was passed in February 2024 in the event of irregularities in competitive examinations and cancellation of many examinations. After this law was passed in Parliament, President Draupadi Murmu approved it. The purpose of this law is to bring more transparency in all public examinations and to assure the competing youth that there is no irregularity.