This article has been written by NIGHILKUMAR M, graduated 5 year B.A., L.L.B in Government Law College, Dharmapuri which is affiliated to Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University.
ABSTRACT
The Indian Parliament enacts the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 on 12 February 2024, the 75th year of the Republic of India. This act prevents unfair means in the public examination and provides the connected matters among the Republic of India. It consists of 6 Chapters, 19 Sections, and 1 Schedule. This act was the first law enacted in the year 2024. It was enforced on 21st June of the same year. Under this act, all offenses are cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. All offenses under this act shall be inquired and investigated by the officer, not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police. In the Schedule, the examination is conducted by the public examination authorities such as the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, Ministries or Departments of the Central Government, and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff, National Testing Agency, such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government.
Keywords: public examination, unfair, neet, nta, paper leak, re-exam, prevention
Interpretation:
1.1. Section 2(1)(a) defines the term ‘candidate’ which means who has been granted permission to appear for the public examination by the public examination authority and the candidate includes the scribe on behalf of permitted to write the exam.[1]
1.2. ‘Institution’ means any agency, organization, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership, or single proprietorship firm, by whatever name it may be called, which is other than the public examination authority and the service provider engaged by such authority, is defined under Section 2(1)(f) of this act.[2]
1.3. ‘Organized crime’ means an unlawful activity committed by a person or a group of persons indulging in unfair means in collusion and conspiracy to pursue or promote a shared interest for wrongful gain in respect of a public examination is defined under Section 2(1)(h) of this act.[3]
1.4. ‘Public examination’[4] means any examination conducted by the public examination authority, as specified in the Schedule, or conducted by such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government is defined under Section 2(1)(k) of this act.
Here, the specified Schedule mentions the public examination authority that conducts the public examination, such as the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, Ministries or Departments of the Central Government, and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff, National Testing Agency, such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government.[5]
1.5. ‘public examination center’ means such premises, which are selected by the service provider or otherwise selected by the public examination authority, to be used for the conduct of public examination and which, amongst others, may include any school, computer center, institution, any building or part thereof and the same shall include the entire periphery and land appurtenant thereto which may be used for security and other related reasons for the conduct of the public examinations.[6]
1.6. ‘Service provider’ means any agency, organization, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership, or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, subcontractors, and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, which is engaged by the public examination authority for the conduct of the public examination.[7]
Other definitions are explained under Section 2 of this act.
DEFINITION OF UNFAIR
Section 3 in Chapter 2 of this act, defined unfair means, concerning the public examination, any act or omission is done or caused by any person or any groups or any institution as following acts for monetary purpose or any wrongful gain means,
- leakage of any question paper or any answer as whole or part thereof,
- participating in collusion with any person to affect such leakage of question or answer.
- accessing or taking possession of question paper or OMR response sheet without authority.
- During the public examination, solutions to one or more questions by unauthorized persons are provided.
- directly or indirectly assist the candidates in an unauthorized manner in public examination.
- tampering the answer sheet or OMR response sheet
- Altering the assessment in a wrongful manner without authority
- wilful violation of norms or standards set up by the Central Government in relation to conducting the public examination.
- tampering with the computer resources or network or any system.
- manipulating the arrangement of seats or allocation of dates and shifts to the candidate.
NEED OF THIS ACT
There are numerous unfair exams in the examination, question paper leaks in recruitment exams all over India. Before this act was enacted, there was no substantive law to regulate the exams and prevent unfair practices and means.
The object of this act is to bring transparency, fairness, and credibility to the examination and punish the wrongdoer.
VYAPAM SCAM – 2013
There was a significant fallout from cheating on the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) entrance exams for medical and other professional programs. A few of the behaviors that were implemented were changing records, giving gifts to specific individuals, and impersonating others. Over two thousand people have been implicated in the scam, including politicians, public servants, and touts. For this reason, the CBI was tasked by the Supreme Court of India with conducting an investigation, which led to numerous arrests and trials. The Vyapam scam portrayed the examination system as a deeply flawed organization that requires significant changes to rid it of the vices.
CBSE PAPER LEAK – 2018
One of the largest examination scandals to be reported in recent years was the 2018 CBSE paper leak. More than two million students experienced difficulties as a result of the Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers being leaked on social media platforms ahead of their exams. This infuriated parents, teachers, and students even more, who demanded that appropriate and stringent action be taken to guarantee that similar incidents never happened again. Another network that distributed the papers via the use of the WhatsApp group was revealed by the police, who also brought in the CBI to look into the leakage. This was all based on the leakage that occurred through the pages. It was eye-opening regarding the security of the examination procedure as well as the lenient punishments meted out to those engaged in examination fraud.
CONCLUSION & COMMENTS
In summary, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, of 2024 is a noble endeavour; yet, its efficacy hinges on its execution and integration with additional policies. India can progress towards a public examination system that is more transparent, equitable, and reliable by taking into account the recommendations and worries expressed by professionals, utilizing technology, cultivating a culture of honesty, and guaranteeing cooperation between federal and state administrations.
[1] S.2(1)(a) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[2] S. 2(1)(f) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[3] S. 2(1)(h) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[4] S. 2(1)(k) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[5] S. 2(1)(l) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[6] S. 2(1)(m) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
[7] S. 2(1)(n) of The Public Examination (Prevention of unfair means) Act, 2024, Act of Parliament, India.
