‘Anti-cheating’ bill passed in Lok Sabha; to be moved in Rajya Sabha
Updated: Feb 6th, 2024
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| Anti cheating bill (img: IANS) |
In a move to eradicate unfair means used by candidates to illicitly clear government exams, the Centre today passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, or the ‘anti-cheating’ bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha by union minister Jitendra Singh.
Under this bill, perpetrators eyeing to leak exam papers or accused of altercation in answer sheets shall face jail time up to 10 years or a fine of ₹1 cr.
However, it maintains that candidates taking exams in good faith (not knowingly seeking to profit from cheating) won’t be affected.
This bill shall make the offences committed under it cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable, prompting independent police action, and no entitlement to bail or settlement through a compromise shall be provided.
In the bill, “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, a computer resource, or a computer system” are mentioned as offences committed by an individual or group entity.
It will now be moved to the Rajya Sabha for discussions before being presented to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent to make it a law.
