The law that the central government brought in 2024 to crack down on paper leaks and copying mafia did not prove to be completely effective even after two years. Meanwhile, at least four major examinations had to be canceled due to paper leak, due to which lakhs of students had to prepare again and questions were raised on the government. Now Modi cabinet has approved the amendment in the paper leak law. This decision was taken in a meeting held on Friday amid the students' agitation at Jantar Mantar. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will present this amendment bill in Parliament on Monday.

In the new bill, there is a proposal to increase both the fine and punishment manifold, and arrangements are also being made to make fast track courts mandatory to speed up the hearing of cases. The question arises that why the law made two years ago proved to be a failure, and now what is being added to the new provisions so that the paper leak mafia can be effectively controlled. In this story, we will understand the flaws of the old law, the reasons behind it and what are the changes included in the new amendment proposal.

What have been the flaws in the law

The Central Government had implemented the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 in 2024. Its objective was to stop paper leaks, cheating mafia and organized examination scams in government recruitment and entrance examinations. This law applies to central government recruitment examinations like UPSC, SSC, RRB, IBPS, NTA. Under this, leaking question paper or answer key, providing outside help during the examination, tampering with OMR sheet or answer sheet, committing fraud by creating fake website or fake admit card, hacking the computer system and disturbing the examination shift were kept in the category of crimes.

But this law could not show any impact on the ground, the main reasons for this were-

1. In normal cases, the punishment provision was only for 3 to 5 years, in which the accused could get bail relatively easily.
2. Even for leaking papers in an organized manner by forming a gang, the punishment was limited to 5 to 10 years, which was not considered sufficient to stop the big racket.
3. This law mainly applies only to the examinations notified by the Central Government. Most state board examinations or university examinations do not automatically come under its purview, unless separate arrangements are made for it.

Due to these flaws, even after the law was made, many major examinations had to be canceled due to paper leaks, and the anger of the students increased, which ultimately forced the government to amend the law.

Now what will change in the new provision

In the amendment bill approved by the Modi cabinet, there is a preparation to make the existing law more stringent. The biggest change is regarding fine and punishment period.

1. There is now a proposal to increase the fine from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore.
2. A provision is being made to increase the jail sentence from 5 years to 10 years.
3. Fast track courts will be mandatory for hearing cases related to paper leaks, which will have to give verdict within three months, so that the culprits can be punished quickly and the cases do not remain pending in the courts for a long time.
4. A provision for stricter action than before is being added against paper leak mafia and organized gangs.

In comparison, in the current system, there is a punishment of three to five years in individual cases and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh, while if the role of a service provider or examination agency is revealed, there is a provision of a fine of up to Rs 1 crore and a ban from examinations for four years. In cases of organized crime, there is a punishment of five to ten years and a fine of at least one crore rupees, and there is also a rule to confiscate the property of the organization. In the new amendment, the punishment in all these categories will be made more stringent.

This law has been made mainly to take action against the gangs and agencies involved in paper leak mafia and examination scams. It has been made clear in the objectives of the bill that the candidates will not be directly punished under this law, action against them will be taken only as per the existing rules of the concerned examination institution. The entire focus of the law is on those people, gangs and institutions who tamper with the examination system for money or ill-gotten gains. DOPT i.e. Department of Personnel and Training will be the nodal ministry of this amendment bill. After presenting it in Parliament on Monday, further process will start on this. Student organizations have been demanding that the stricter the law is, the better the transparency in the examination system will be, and now the government seems to be taking steps in this direction.