Amid a major issue surrounding the NEET and UGC-NET exams, the government has enacted a tough regulation to deter paper leaks and cheating in public exams. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions notified the public on Friday evening regarding the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The law stipulates that anyone found to be utilizing unethical exam-taking practices faces a minimum of three years in prison. They could also face a fine of up to ₹ 10 lakh in addition to having their sentence prolonged to five years. Failure to pay the fine could result in additional jail time.
How the New Law Is Designed to Reduce Question Paper Leaks in Open Examination. Amid a major issue surrounding the NEET and UGC-NET exams, the government has enacted a tough regulation to deter paper leaks and cheating in public exams. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions notified the public on Friday evening regarding the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The law stipulates that anyone found to be utilizing unethical exam-taking practices faces a minimum of three years in prison. They could also face a fine of up to ₹ 10 lakh in addition to having their sentence prolonged to five years. Failure to pay the fine could result in additional jail time. Any individual or “service provider” found guilty of an organized crime faces a minimum five-year prison sentence, with the possibility of a ten-year sentence, and a minimum fine of ₹1 crore, according to the law. The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), two of the most important public exams that lakhs of Indians take to pursue careers in academic and medical fields, are embroiled in a major controversy that has resulted in students taking to the streets in the last week.

Here are five significant legal provisions

1. The law stipulates that anyone found to be utilizing unethical exam-taking practices faces a minimum of three years in prison. They could also face a fine of up to ₹ 10 lakh in addition to having their sentence prolonged to five years. Failure to pay the fine could result in additional jail time.
2. The “service provider”—that is, the testing agency—will be subject to a fine of up to one crore as well as recoverable examination costs in proportion. The law also stipulates that they might not be allowed to administer any public exams for four years.
3. In addition, the law stipulates a three-year prison sentence, which can be increased to ten years if top management personnel are shown to have been involved. It is also possible for them to be fined ₹ 1 crore.
4. If an individual can demonstrate that they had no knowledge of the offense being done and that they made every effort to stop it, then the law will not apply to them.
5. Any individual or “service provider” found guilty of an organized crime faces a minimum five-year prison sentence, with the possibility of a ten-year sentence, and a minimum fine of ₹1 crore, according to the law.
The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), two of the most important public exams that lakhs of Indians take to pursue careers in academic and medical fields, are embroiled in a major controversy that has resulted in students taking to the streets in the last week. For admission to medical colleges throughout India, a total of 24 lakh applicants took the NEET exam on May 5. However, when the results were released on June 4, several anomalies were discovered. Before the Bihar NEET exam, at least four guys admitted to leaking confidential information.

The action takes on importance amid a heated dispute over the question paper leak for the UGC-NET, 2024 exam

On Thursday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) leaked the exam question paper, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened a case to look into it. The NTA released the results of the NEET-UG medical entrance exam on June 4, and opposition parties have also claimed anomalies in the exam. “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central Government hereby appoints the 21st day of June 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” the notification states.
The Act was recently announced a day after a question about the legislation’s implementation was posed to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The law ministry was drafting the regulations, according to the minister. The Rajya Sabha passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 on February 9. It was approved by the Lok Sabha on February 6. On February 12, President Murmu approved the measure and it became a law. The purpose of the Act is to stop unfair methods from being used in public tests administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the railroads, and banking recruitment exams. In order to prevent cheating, it stipulates that offenders who commit organized crimes of cheating would be sentenced to a minimum of five to ten years in jail and a fine of at least Rs one crore.