This law was notified on 21 June, hence it will be considered effective from then onwardsFIR regarding leaks and irregularities in NET and NEET exams was filed earlierAlthough this law is not strict regarding copying and cheating by students
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 has been notified and implemented from June 21, but NEET exam, UGC-NET exam will not be included in it, because the FIR on these was done on June 19, while the new law of the Center came into force on June 21. This law provides for imprisonment of up to 05 years and fine up to Rs 1 crore for cheating and organized fraud in government recruitment and other examinations.
The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test 2024 (UGC-NET) exam was cancelled on June 19 amid cheating and widespread irregularities. It is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Because of this, it will not come under the purview of the new law.
The NEET exam was cancelled due to leakage. The CBI is also investigating this. The first FIR for this was filed by the Bihar Police in May itself. Therefore, it is doubtful whether the irregularities and leaks in these two exams will come under the new law.
The notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on June 21 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 June 21, 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
Which crimes will come under this
The law mentions penalties for offences committed by any individual, group of individuals or institution for “leaking of question paper or answer key”, “assisting, directly or indirectly, any candidate in a public examination in any manner unauthorisedly” and “tampering with computer network or computer resource or computer system”.
Apart from these, “creating fake website for cheating or pecuniary gain”, “conducting fake examination, issuing fake admit cards or offer letters for cheating or pecuniary gain” and “manipulation of seating arrangement, allotment of dates and shifts of candidates to facilitate adoption of unfair means in examinations” are also among the offences punishable under the law.
what will be the penalty
According to the law, “Any person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than three years but up to five years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh, however, this fine may extend to Rs 1 crore.” According to the previous rules, a person found cheating in the exam was liable to be imprisoned for three years and fined up to Rs 2000.
According to the Act, a service provider appointed by the public examination authority for conducting examinations can also be fined up to Rs 1 crore and a proportionate cost of the examination will also be recovered from him. Such service providers will also be barred from being entrusted with the responsibility of conducting any public examination for a period of four years.
Who is considered a service provider
The Act defines service provider as any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or sole proprietorship firm appointed by the public examination authority for the conduct of a public examination.”
what will happen next
There are plans to enhance security of computer-based examinations and develop protocols for IT infrastructure and electronic surveillance at examination centres and a National Technical Committee will be set up for this.
Which exams will this law cover
This law covers major central government examinations like UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment, Banking exams and all NTA computer-based examinations like JEE, NEET, CUET.
No strict action on students and candidates
The law does not impose direct penalties on students and candidates for minor cheating, leaving their punishment to the discretion of examination officials. However, this flexibility has also been opposed. Critics argue that it may reduce the effectiveness of the law.
What happens abroad
In foreign countries too, strict punishment is given for cheating in exams. In China too, cheating is legally considered a crime. If a candidate is found cheating, he can be sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Tags: NEET, net exam, Paper Leak, UGC
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 24, 2024, 18:58 IST