[NO.
1 OF 2024] [12th February, 2024] An Act to prevent
unfair means in the public
examinations and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto. BE
it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fifth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:- CHAPTER
I PRELIMINARY (1) This Act may be
called the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. (2)
It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
appoint. (1) In this Act, unless
the context otherwise requires,– (a) “candidate” means a person
who has been granted permission by the public examination authority to appear
in public examination and includes a person
authorised to act as a scribe on his behalf in the public examination; (b)
“communication device” shall have the same meaning assigned
to it in clause (ha) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of
the Information Technology Act, 2000; (c) “competent authority” shall mean the Ministry or a Department of the Central Government administratively
concerned with the public examination authority; (d) “computer network”, “computer resource” and “computer system”
shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (j), (k) and (l) of sub-section (1) of
section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000; (e) “Conduct of public examination” shall include all the procedures, processes and
activities, as may be prescribed, for being adopted
for the conduct
of public examination; (f) “institution” means
any agency, organisation, 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. Explanation.-
For the purposes of this clause, it is clarified
that “company” includes
a company as defined
in clause (20) of section
2 of the Companies Act, 2013; or a
limited liability partnership firm as defined in clause (n) of sub-section (1) of section 2
of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008; (g) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette
and the expression “notify”
shall be construed accordingly; (h) “organised 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; (i) “person associated with a service
provider” means a person who performs services for or on behalf
of such service provider irrespective of whether such person is an
employee or an agent or a subsidiary of such service provider, as the case may
be; (j) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (k) “Public examination” 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; (l) “public examination authority” means an authority as specified by the Central Government by a notification, from time to time for conducting the public
examinations; (m) “public examination centre” means such premises, which is selected
by the service provider
or otherwise selected
by the public examination authority, to be used for
conduct of public examination and which, amongst others, may include any school,
computer centre, 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 conduct of the public examinations; and (n) “service provider”
means any agency,
organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, sub-contractors 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 conduct of public examination. (2) Words and expressions used herein but not defined and defined under any other law for the time being in force, shall have the
same meanings as assigned to them in those laws. CHAPTER II UNFAIR MEANS AND OFFENCES The unfair
means relating to the conduct
of a public examination shall include any act or omission done or caused
to be done by any person or group of persons or institutions, and include but not be restricted to, any
of the following acts for monetary or wrongful gain— (i) leakage of question
paper or answer key or part thereof; (ii) participating in
collusion with others to effect leakage of question paper or answer key; (iii)
accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition response sheet without authority; (iv)
providing
solution to one or more questions by any unauthorised person during a public
examination; (v)
directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner
unauthorisedly in the public
examination; (vi) tampering with answer
sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets; (vii) altering the
assessment except to correct a bona fide error without any authority; (viii)
willful violation of norms or standards set up by the Central
Government for conduct
of a public examination on
its own or through its agency; (ix)
tampering with any document necessary
for short-listing of candidates or finalising the merit
or rank of a candidate in a public examination; (x)
deliberate
violation of security
measures to facilitate unfair means in conduct of a public examination; (xi) tampering with the
computer network or a computer resource or a computer system; (xii)
manipulation
in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts
for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations; (xiii)
threatening
the life, liberty
or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination authority or the service provider or any authorised agency of the Government;
or obstructing the conduct of a public examination; (xiv) creation of fake
website to cheat or for monetary gain; and (xv)
conduct of fake examination, issuance
of fake admit cards or offer letters
to cheat or for
monetary gain. No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or conspire to facilitate indulgence
in any such unfair means. (1)
No person, who is not entrusted or engaged with the work pertaining to the public examination or conduct of public examination or who is not a candidate, shall enter the premises of the examination centre, with intent
to disrupt the conduct of the public examination. (2)
No person authorised, engaged or entrusted with the duties
to conduct public
examination shall, before the time fixed for opening and distribution of
question papers– (a) open, leak or possess
or access or solve or seek assistance to solve such question paper or any portion or a copy thereof in unauthorised manner for monetary or wrongful gain; (b) give any confidential information or promise to give such confidential information to any person, where such confidential information is related
to or in reference to such
question paper for monetary or wrongful gain. (3)
No person, who is entrusted or engaged with
any work pertaining to public examination shall, except where he is authorised in furtherance of his duties
so to do, reveal or cause to be
revealed or make known to any other person any information or part thereof which has come
to his knowledge for any undue advantage or wrongful gain. If any person or group of persons or institution commits
any unfair means
or offence under sections 3, 4 and section 5, the service provider shall forthwith report the offence to the concerned police authorities and also
inform the public examination authority: Provided that if the service provider resorts to unfair means and commits the offence or is involved in facilitating an offence, the public examination authority shall report the same to
the concerned police authorities. It shall be an offence for the service provider or any person associated with the service provider
to cause any premises, other than the examination centre, authorised by the public examination
authority, to be alternatively used for the purpose of holding public
examination, without the written approval of the public
examination authority: Provided that nothing contained in this section
shall be an offence where
any change in the examination centre without prior consent of the public examination authority
is due to any force majeure. (1)
Any person, including the person associated with a service
provider, shall be deemed to have
committed an offence
if he individually or in collusion with any other person or group of persons or institutions assists any person or group of persons or institutions in any manner unauthorisedly in the conduct of
public examination. (2)
Service provider or any person
associated with it shall be deemed to have committed an offence if he fails to report incidence of any unfair means
or commission of any offence. (3)
Where an offence committed by a service provider is, prima facie, established during investigation to have been committed with the consent or connivance
of any director, manager, secretary or other officer
of such service provider, such person shall also be liable
to be proceeded against: Provided that nothing contained
in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to
any punishment under the Act, if he proves, that the offence was committed
without his knowledge and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. CHAPTER
III PUNISHMENT FOR OFFENCES All offences under this Act, shall be
cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. (1)
Any person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences
under this Act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
not less than three years but which may extend to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees. In case of default of payment of fine, an additional
punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, as per the provisions of the Bharatiya
Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Provided: that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
is brought into force, the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, shall be
applicable in place of the said Act. (2)
The service provider
shall also be liable to be punished
with imposition of a fine up to one
crore rupees and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from such
service provider and he shall also be barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination
for a period of four years. (3)
Where it is established during the investigation that offence under this Act has been committed with the consent
or connivance of any Director,
Senior Management or the
persons in-charge of the service provider firm, he shall be liable for imprisonment for a term not
less than three years but which may extend to ten years and with fine of one crore rupees. In case of default of payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Provided
that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is brought into force, the
provisions of the Indian Penal Code, shall be applicable in place of the said
Act. (4)
Nothing contained in this section
shall render any such person liable to any punishment under the Act, if he proves,
that the offence
was committed without
his knowledge and that
he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (1)
If a person or a group of persons including
the examination authority
or service provider
or any other institution commits an organised
crime, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than five years but which may extend to ten years and with fine which shall not
be less than one crore rupees. In case of default of payment of fine, an additional
punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of the Bharatiya
Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Provided
that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is brought into force, the
provisions of the Indian Penal Code, shall be applicable in place of the said
Act. (2)
If an institution is involved in committing an organised crime, its property shall be subjected
to attachment and forfeiture and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered
from it. CHAPTER
IV INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION (1)
An officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police shall investigate
any offence under this Act. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Central
Government shall have the powers to refer the investigation
to any Central Investigating Agency. CHAPTER
V MISCELLANEOUS The Chairperson, Members, officers and other employees of the public examination authority shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions
of this Act, to be public
servants within the meaning of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Provided that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is brought
into force, the provisions
of the Indian Penal Code, shall be applicable in place of the said Act. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings under this Act, shall lie against any public
servant, in respect of anything
which is done in good faith or intended to be done in the discharge of his official functions or
in exercise of his powers: Provided that the public
servants in the service of any public
examination authority shall be
subject to administrative action in terms of service
rules of such public examination authority: Provided further
that nothing shall prevent proceeding against such public servants where, prima facie case exists for
establishing commission of an offence under this Act. The provisions
of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the
time being in force: Provided that the provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or any
instrument having effect by virtue of any such law in force. (1)
The Central Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out
the provisions of this Act. (2)
In particular, and without prejudice
to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:–– (a) to lay down procedures, processes and activities for being adopted
for conduct of the public examination; (b)
any
other matter which is to be or may be prescribed. Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session,
for a total period of thirty days which may be
comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions,
and if, before the expiry of the session, immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses
agree in making any modification in the rule, or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made,
the rule shall, thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the
case may be; so, however,
that any such modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of
anything previously done under that rule. (1)
If any difficulty arises in giving
effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central
Government may, by order, published in the Official
Gazette, make such provisions within three years, not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary for removal of difficulty. (2)
Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament. CHAPTER
VI AMENDMENT TO THE CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 1944 In the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 1944, in the Schedule, after serial number 5 and entries relating thereto, the
following serial number and entries shall be inserted, namely:– "6. An offence
punishable under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair
Means) Act, 2024.". THE SCHEDULE [See section 2 (k)] ANY EXAMINATION CONDUCTED BY— (1)
Union
Public Service Commission. (2)
Staff
Selection Commission. (3)
Railway
Recruitment Boards. (4)
Institute
of Banking Personnel Selection. (5)
Ministries
or Departments of the Central Government and their attached and subordinate
offices for recruitment of staff. (6)
National
Testing Agency. (7)
Such
other authority as may be notified by the Central Government.THE PUBLIC
EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 2024
Section 1 Short
title and commencement.
Section 3 Unfair
means.
Section 4 Conspiracy
for unfair means.
Section 5 Disruption
to conduct public examination.
Section 6 Other
offences.
Section 7 No
premises other than examination centre shall be used for public examination.
Section 8 Offences
in respect of service providers and other persons.
Section 9 Cognizable
offences.
Section 10 Punishment
for offences under this Act.
Section 11 Organised
crimes.
Section 12 Officers
empowered to investigate.
Section 13 Members,
officers and employees of public examination authority to be public servants.
Section 14 Protection
of action taken in good faith by any public servant.
Section 15 Provisions
of this Act to be in addition to other laws.
Section 16 Power
to make rules.
Section 17 Laying
of rules.
Section 18 Power
to remove difficulties.
Section 19 Amendment
of Ordinance 38 of 1944.