On 20th May, the Bihar Assembly passed a Bill to prevent question paper leaks and other unfair practices in government’s recruitment exams. The bill introduced by State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary was put forward for voting through voice note while opposition walked out of the house.
The recent investigation by CBI about NEET-UG (2024) medical entrance exam has put the Bihar Government under scrutiny because it unveiled that gangs based in state were responsible for leaking the question papers. Some people have been arrested in relation to this case by EOU, CBI and BIHAR POLICE.
Under the draft legislation, all offences would be cognizable and non-bailable with stringent punishments imposed on culprits. These punishments are 3-5 years imprisonment and ₹10 lakh fine. Speaking in the House Mr. Choudhary said that the Bill was “in line” with what he referred to as Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 which is central law related to this area. This newly enacted central law deals with rising irregularities in public examinations by providing for imprisonment between 5-10 years and minimum fine of ₹1 crore in cases where criminal activity has been organised such as those detected in Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan among other States as well.
Repeated paper leaks
Bihar is no stranger to paper leakages that have led to cancellation of several government recruitment exams within its territory. Last month for example BPSC had been forced to cancel Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE 3.0) originally slated for March following an alleged leakage of examination papers thereby rescheduling it again earlier this month.
There was also a question paper leak scandal during Bihar Constable Recruitment Examination 2023 when it went viral on social media leading to annulment of examination. Similarly, in 2022, Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) had to cancel the 67th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) following a paper leak incident.
What does the law entail?
The bill imposes a prison term of three to five years and ₹10 lakh as fine for guilty individuals. Otherwise the service provider who shall be administering such tests may be charged up to ₹1 crore and his services will be suspended for up to four years if it is established that organized crime was involved. In addition, the offending service providers would also bear some costs incurred when running such exams.
All offenses are non-bailable and cognizable while investigation on paper leaks will now be carried out by DSP level officers.
“The Prime Minister Narendra Modi enacted this law at the national level and now we are going to put this into practice in Bihar by making a very strong Act. The punishment which was there under the previous law in Bihar till 1981 was six months only. This time we have made a strict law. Such culprits will get imprisonment from 3-5 years; fines could go up to ₹10 lakhs.” There is a punishment and fine upto ₹1 crore for those who commit crime in an organised manner,” said Mr Chaudhary on floor of house.
Other States
In the previous year, after question paper of Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers had been leaked and sold at over one crore rupees, the state assembly passed the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill. It has a broader scope, like the Bihar law, which covers recruitment tests conducted by both State Government as well as autonomous bodies. Cheating by an examinee attracts imprisonment term of up to 3 years and a minimum fine of not less than one lakh rupees. Similarly, conspiring individuals with service providers face imprisonment terms ranging from 5-10 years while fines between ten lakhs and hundred lakhs are imposed on them. In addition to that, those who will be found guilty of these charges shall be disqualified from appearing in any examination for two years.
During Supreme Court proceedings in NEET-UG question paper leak case it was disclosed that the paper had leaked in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The state has been under a series of paper leaks lately. The Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s preliminary exam for junior engineers was cancelled after authorities discovered that question papers had been sold for ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh. Consequently, Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act 2023 was enacted. Under this law first-time offenders can be sentenced to three years in prison or seven years if they re-offend together with some amount as fine. Such institutions as printing presses and examination agencies may get life imprisonments plus monetary penalties running into tens of millions. In case an examinee is found culpable a ban on their participation in subsequent examinations may stretch up to ten more years whereas lifetime suspensions are reserved for recidivists. The Act also empowers seizure or search where there is suspicion that persons involved have cheated or gained proceeds through cheating.
Last year March saw the enactment of Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures For Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act owing to protests against alleged irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission exams. By this law, examinees convicted of cheating risk spending three years behind bars and being fined not less than five lakh rupees for a first time offender. In case someone is caught cheating twice they may face up to ten years imprisonment besides a minimum fine of rupees ten lakhs. In addition, examination authorities can be sentenced to between ten years and life while fines ranging from one crore to hundred crores shall be imposed on them as service providers are also liable.
However, if charged, an examinee can be banned for taking part in any state-level competitive examination for period varying between two and five years without waiting for conviction. The presumption of innocence found in the Constitution could erode when accused candidates are denied participation even after being exonerated.
Since 2015, not even once has Gujrarat been able to conduct a single government recruitment exam without landing into the papers leakage controversy. As part of the strategy to address this situation, the State Government enacted the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Methods) Act in February last year which is applicable to all exams conducted by public service commissions, high courts, State-funded universities and education boards. While examinees found guilty of malpractices face up to 3 years in prison and a fine of Rs ₹ 1 lakh, service providers have to serve 5 to 10 years in prison along with a fine between ₹ 10 lakh and ₹ 1 crore. Also those involved in collusion with examination authorities could be jailed for periods ranging from seven years minimum and ten years maximum and they are usually fined not less than one crore rupees. Candidates may be prohibited from taking any competitive examinations for only two years if they are convicted unlike what obtained under Uttarakhand law.
Similar provisions exist under Haryana Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act that came into effect since 2021 where convicted individuals can be sentenced up to ten years’ imprisonment while fines can be collected against their property as well while these also involve certain obligations such as minimum jail terms for seven calendar years plus at least one hundred thousand Indian Rupees for anyone entrusted with conducting public exams breaking or attempting or aiding others in violation of any section stipulated within this legislation.
Criticism
“We did not participate in the passage of the Bill, though we had moved amendments,” said RJD MLA Lalit Yadav who led other opposition members when they stormed out Parliament during its passing . “When the government was not ready to listen to our demand on reservations, there was no point in participating in the debate on the bills. What he wanted do was what Chief Minister was speaking but what he could not do was what we were highlighting” the former minister added in a press briefing. The Opposition’s protest followed the scrapping of a law that had raised caste-based reservations from 50% to 65% before it was struck down by the Patna High Court earlier this year.
While some states have enacted legislation to curb unethical practices, its effectiveness as deterrent remains doubtful. For example, despite Uttar Pradesh having a law since 1998 on unfair means prevention, there are nine instances of paper leaks recorded between 2017 and 2024.
Fixing this problem may require states examining integrity of their recruiting agencies while hiring qualified professionals as opposed to party members. All recruiting agencies are involved in corruption in the State,” Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress spokesperson who has been following recruitment tests run by several State entities noted. “The state has become full of corrupt recruitment agencies with many such heads being appointed for them from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) people in Gujarat where they are rigging things up. They are epicentres of corruption in the State,” Mr. Doshi told The Hindu earlier.
