The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a bill amending ‘The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024’ to prescribe jail terms of up to 10 years and penalties of up to ₹10 crore for individuals convicted in paper leak cases, official sources said.
The bill will be introduced in Parliament on Monday. This development occurred after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced around midnight on Thursday that a bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks would be introduced in Parliament next week.
According to sources, the bill will provide for imprisonment of up to 10 years, with a minimum sentence of 5 years for individuals resorting to unfair means.
The present law includes ‘leakage of question papers or answer keys’ of a public examination by any person, group of persons or institutions, for monetary or wrongful gain. Furthermore, it prescribes that any person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than 3 years, which may extend to 5 years and with a fine of up to ₹10 lakh. In case of default in the payment of the fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, as per the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
