Mumbai, Amid concerns over exam leaks, the Maharashtra government on Friday introduced a bill in the state legislative assembly that aims to prevent malpractices in competitive exams and provides for a jail term of up to five years for the offenders.
The bill titled 'Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024' was introduced by minister Shambhuraj Desai in the lower house of the state legislature.
According to the bill, offenses related to the conduct of competitions will be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
According to the bill, those found indulging in unfair means and offenses in the conduct of competitions will be punished with imprisonment of not less than three years, which may be extended to five years and with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. . In case of non-payment of fine, additional imprisonment will be imposed as per the provisions of Bharaitya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
The service provider, who is engaged by the competitive examination authorities for conducting the examination, will be penalized with a fine of up to Rs 1 million and the proportionate cost of the examination will be recovered from such provider. He will also be barred from being assigned the responsibility of conducting any competitive examination for a period of four years, the bill says.
The salient features of the bill include provisions to avoid disruption in the conduct of competitive examinations, requires it to specify the duties of document writers and empowers officers not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police or deputy commissioner of police to investigate the crime. .
The bill was introduced in the assembly following alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Undergraduate). The NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar, besides other irregularities.
Later, the Union Education Ministry also canceled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) exams after receiving information that the "integrity of the exams may have been compromised ".
On June 21, the Center brought in a stringent law, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in contests and provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to 1 million rupees for violators.
The bill titled 'Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024' was introduced by minister Shambhuraj Desai in the lower house of the state legislature.
According to the bill, offenses related to the conduct of competitions will be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
According to the bill, those found indulging in unfair means and offenses in the conduct of competitions will be punished with imprisonment of not less than three years, which may be extended to five years and with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. . In case of non-payment of fine, additional imprisonment will be imposed as per the provisions of Bharaitya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
The service provider, who is engaged by the competitive examination authorities for conducting the examination, will be penalized with a fine of up to Rs 1 million and the proportionate cost of the examination will be recovered from such provider. He will also be barred from being assigned the responsibility of conducting any competitive examination for a period of four years, the bill says.
The salient features of the bill include provisions to avoid disruption in the conduct of competitive examinations, requires it to specify the duties of document writers and empowers officers not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police or deputy commissioner of police to investigate the crime. .
The bill was introduced in the assembly following alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Undergraduate). The NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar, besides other irregularities.
Later, the Union Education Ministry also canceled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) exams after receiving information that the "integrity of the exams may have been compromised ".
On June 21, the Center brought in a stringent law, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in contests and provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to 1 million rupees for violators.
