With the rising misconduct and cheating in government examinations, the government is likely to present the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, during the ongoing Lok Sabha session.

According to the Lok Sabha website, Dr Jitender Singh, the minister of state for personnel, public grievances, and pensions, will introduce the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, today.

The bill aims to crack down on organised gangs, paper leak mafias, and other miscreants who indulge in paper leak examinations and take strict action against them.

Imprisonment and penalty of ₹1 cr

To curb cheating, the Bill proposes a punishment of a minimum of three to five years of imprisonment.

According to the Bill, those involved in organised crimes of cheating will face five to 10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 cr. 

Misconduct in public examinations, including the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway examinations, NEET, JEE, and Common University Entrance Test (CUET), will be identified and stopped.

The government employees involved in such misconduct will also be traced and punished.

The Bill comes after the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Bihar had to cancel the public examinations because of paper leaks.

“My government is aware of the concerns of youth regarding irregularities in examinations. It has been decided to enact a new law to deal sternly with such malpractices,” told president Droupadi Murmu in a recent joint sitting of parliament.

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