The Rajasthan Assembly passed a Bill on Friday to increase the punishment for those involved in government recruitment exam paper leaks from the current 10-year jail term to life imprisonment.
The Rajasthan Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by voice vote.
In March 2022, the assembly passed a Bill providing for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 10 crore for offences such as government recruitment exam paper leaks and cheating in such recruitment tests. This came a month after the Rajasthan Eligibility Exam for Teachers (REET) level-two examination held in September 2021 was cancelled due to a paper leak.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Minister of State for Higher Education Rajendra Yadav said that the existing Act provides that any person found guilty of indulging in unfair means shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than five years but which may extend to 10 years along with fine of Rs 10 lakh, which may extend to Rs 10 crore.
”It is evident from recent incidents that offences relating to use of unfair means are perpetrated by organised mafias and…more stringent punishment for them is the need of the hour,” Yadav said.
He further said, ”The state government is of the opinion that minimum term of imprisonment of five years be increased to 10 years and maximum term of imprisonment be increased to life imprisonment.” The opposition called the Bill an attempt to misguide the youth.
BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani said the government’s intention is not clear. Had the laws made earlier been effectively implemented, the difference would have been visible.
”The government should share the number of properties ceased or bulldozed of the accused involved in paper leak. They are just creating am illusion to misguide the youth,” he said.
Opposition parties in Rajasthan have been targeting the Congress government over the issue of exam paper leaks. Assembly elections in the state are due later this year.
The opposition BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the REET paper leak case, which at present is being investigated by the Special Operations Group of the Rajasthan Police.
The previous Act has a provision of attachment and confiscation of property.
According to the provisions of the previous Act, any person taking unauthorised help in a public examination from any person, group or from any material, may face a jail term of up to three years and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh.
If any person impersonates or leak, attempt to leak or conspires to leak question paper, procures or attempts to possess question paper in an unauthorised manner or solves/attempts to solve/seek assistance to solve question paper in an unauthorised manner or assist the examinee in unauthorised manner, the imprisonment will be from five to 10 years and fine from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore.
An examinee convicted under the provisions shall be debarred from taking any public examination for a period of two years.
All offences specified under the act shall be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
The state government had enacted the Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1992 to curb irregularities and the use of unfair means in public examinations.
Since the enactment of the law, the issue has assumed dimension of organised crime and involves huge pecuniary advantages to persons involved, the government had said.
In February 2022, the state government had cancelled the REET level-two examination, held in September 2021, due to paper leak.
Looking at the seriousness of the matter, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also announced bringing a Bill to curb cheating in examinations.
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