Context Of Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024
Recently, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the
Parliament and has now become an act. It aims to prevent unfair means in the public
examinations and bring transparency, fairness, and credibility to them.
What Does Unfair Means Mean?
As per the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, unfair means the
following:
1. As per section 3, leakage of the question paper.
2. It also means tampering with the OMR answer sheets.
3. It means writing answers in the examinations using unfair means like Bluetooth, internet,
or phone.
4. It also covers if someone has tampered with the final list of selected candidates.
5. It includes fake websites, examinations and admit cards.
What Are The Public Examinations Covered Under It?
It covers all the public examinations conducted by the Public Examination Authorities like
UPSC, SSC, RRBs, IBPS, and NTA.
What Are The Punishments Given Upon Breaching The Provisions Of The
Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024?
Once an individual or a group breaches the provisions of the Public Examinations (Prevention of
Unfair Means) Act, 2024 then he/ she/ they are booked for cognizable, non-bailable, and
non-compoundable crimes. Further, they have to serve a sentence of 3-5 years and also fined
rupees 10 lakhs.
And if the convicted is part of an organized crime group then they are booked under Section
10(2). Since they are service provider they are charged with a 1 crore fine and jail years above
five years.
Why Was This Bill Introduced?
The reason why this bill was introduced is that in the last five years, there have been 48 cases
reported in 16 states of India regarding malpractices in public examinations. Additionally, 1.51
crore applicants had been affected with 1.2 lakh jobs in jeopardy.
What Will This Act Do?
So, the act was passed in order to meet the requirement of a stringent law to conduct the Public
Exam fairly, with transparency, and to set examples in front of the public that deserving
candidates have a place in the Government. This Act also can be an example of how the States
can also pass a law specially designed for their state public exam basis.
References:
https://pixabay.com/photos/a-book-paper-document-poetry-side-3101151/
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