Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024

Source– This post on Capsaicin has been created based on the article “Why chilis burn. And why humans still love them” published in “Indian Express” on 21 June 2024.

Why in the news?

The Union government notified the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. It has come into effect from 21 June 2024.

About Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024

1. Objective: To prevent unfair practices in public examinations, ensuring greater transparency, fairness, and credibility.

2. Background: The Bill follows the cancellation of several recruitment exams due to paper leaks, such as the teacher recruitment exam in Rajasthan and the constable recruitment examination in Bihar.

Provisions of the Public Examinations Bill 2024

1. It defined Unfair Means under the Bill, Section 3 which Lists 15 actions considered as using unfair means in public examinations for monetary or wrongful gain.

2. It defined Public Examinations under the Bill, Section 2(k) which defines a “public examination” as any examination conducted by a “public examination authority” listed in the Schedule of the Bill.

3. Section 9 of the Bill deals with the nature of offences under the new Bill.

4. Nature of Offences– The offences under the new bill have been made Cognizable, Non-bailable and Non-compoundable.

a. Cognizable– An arrest can be made without a warrant

b. Non-bailable– Bail will not be a matter of right. A magistrate will determine whether the accused is fit to be released on bail

c. Non-compoundable– A non-compoundable offence is one in which the case cannot be withdrawn by the complainant even when the complainant and the accused have reached a compromise. A trial will necessarily follow for the accused.

5. Punishments under the Bill:

i)  Punishment for any person or group of persons resorting to unfair means- 3–5 years in prison and fine up to Rs. 10 Lakh. In case of failure to pay the fine, additional punishment as per the provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 will be imposed.

ii) Punishment in case of organised Paper Leak- 5-10 years in prison and fine of more than one crore rupees. In case of failure to pay the fine, additional punishment as per the provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 will be imposed.

iii) Punishment for Service Provider- Fine of Rs 1 cr and are further barred from conducting future examination for period of 4 years.

UPSC Syllabus: Polity and nation