Anti Paper Leak Law: Under the Anti Paper Leak Law i.e. Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024! 

What is Anti Paper Leak Law: The Modi government, which is facing questions regarding paper leaks, has come into action. The central government has implemented a new law against paper leaks late at night regarding the irregularities in all the competitive examinations for admission to educational institutions and recruitment in jobs. The Paper Leak Law was passed in February this year and now the government has issued its notification, which has been named 'Public Examination Act 2024'. Under the Anti Paper Leak Law i.e. Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024, a provision has been made for strict punishment in case of paper leak. So let us tell you what is Anti Paper Leak Law and what the provisions in it.

What are the provisions of the Anti Paper Leak Law?

The Anti Paper Leak Law has a provision for punishment for everything from paper leaks to making a dummy candidate sit for the exam. According to the law, after being found guilty in a paper leak case, a person can be sentenced to 10 years and fined Rs 1 crore. Apart from this, if found guilty in the case of giving the exam in place of another candidate, the culprit will be jailed for 3 to 5 years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh will also be imposed. If the name of any institute comes up in the case of irregularities in the examination, then the entire cost of the examination will be recovered from that institute. At the same time, the property of the institute can also be confiscated. The notification issued by the government mentions the Indian Judicial Code but it has also been said that the provisions of the Indian Penal Code will remain in force till its implementation. The Code and other criminal laws are going to come into force on July 1.

Will action be taken against the candidates also under this law?

Candidates appearing in competitive examinations are not included in the scope of this law and there is no provision for any action against them. Let us tell you that while presenting the bill in Parliament, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had also given this information. Then he had said that the purpose of the Anti Paper Leak Law is to bring transparency in all public examinations and to stop those who play with the future of the youth by rigging. Therefore, examinees or candidates have been kept out of the scope of this law.

Which exams are covered under the law?

The scope of the Paper Leak Law includes all competitive examinations conducted by public examination bodies. Apart from this, examinations conducted by institutions recognized by the Central Government are also included in it. Apart from all computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), other competitive examinations like UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment, Banking Recruitment, etc. are included in the scope of the law.

A high-level national technical committee will be formed

It has been recommended to form a high-level national technical committee to prevent rigging in competitive examinations and to make the Anti-Paper Leak Law more effective. So that computer-based examinations can be made more secure. Provision can also be made for electronic surveillance and the use of a foolproof IT security system during examinations.

Modi government brought the law in February

To take strict action against the irregularities in examinations like NET-UGC, UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment, and Banking, the Modi government brought this law in February, which has been named the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024. Now the government has implemented this law amid the irregularities coming to the fore in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test i.e. NEET. The purpose of this law is to bring transparency in all public examinations and to assure the youth competing that there is no malpractice.

Supreme Court refuses to ban counseling

On the other hand, amid the NEET-UG controversy, the Supreme Court has again refused to stay the counseling process and has sent a notice to the NTA. The Supreme Court has also tagged new petitions along with the pending petitions and these petitions will be heard on July 8. Let us tell you that the counseling process of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG)-2024, which is surrounded by controversies, will start on July 6. The Supreme Court refused to stay it and said that this is not an 'open and close' process.

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the National Examination Agency (NTA), the Central Government, and others on a petition seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG over alleged irregularities in the examination held on May 5. A vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice SVN Bhatti has fixed the next hearing of this case on July 8 along with other pending petitions alleging rigging in the examination.

What is the controversy regarding NEET-UG?

There is a controversy over the irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test i.e. NEET UG. In fact, there are allegations of giving too many marks in the NEET-UG held on May 5. Due to this, a record 67 candidates scored 720 out of 720 marks. Students allege that the marks have been randomly reduced or increased in the exam results, which has affected the ranking. Apart from this, the grace marks given to more than 1500 students to compensate for the waste of time due to delay in the examination at 6 exam centers are also under controversy and investigation. Along with this, there is also talk of an alleged paper leak, due to which protests are going on across the country. Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan admitted that there was a disturbance in the examination.