THE Union Cabinet on Friday approved a draft bill to ensure stricter punishments - 10 years’ jail for paper leaks, fine up to Rs 10 crore - hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement, official sources said. The draft bill was approved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister at the Parliament House complex. The bill seeks an amendment to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 and proposes a minimum punishment of five years’ imprisonment for individuals involved in paper leaks and/or a fine. It proposes a jail term of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 10 crore in case of organised paper leaks. Sources said the bill also provides for a time-bound probe of the cases and a statutory mandate for trial in fast-track courts, with a stipulation that the probe must be completed in three months. The present law has provisions for three to five years’ imprisonment for individuals, and five to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore for those involved in the organised crime of cheating and paper leaks. The bill is aimed at preventing organised gangs and institutions that indulge in unfair means for monetary gains, while protecting candidates from its provisions.

 

The Bill outlines 15 illegal acts including leaking question papers, tampering with OMR sheets, creating fake websites and issuing fake admit cards. The Bill had provisions for “engagement of services of other Government agencies by public examination authority”, “preparation of norms, standards and guidelines” and “reporting of incidents of unfair means or offences” among others. Pre-examination activities such as pre-audit for the examination readiness of the public examination centres, candidate check-in, biometric registration, security and screening, seat allocation, question paper setting and loading, invigilation in the examination, post-examination activities and guidelines for providing scribes were also part of norms. Paper leaks are again at the centre of controversy with student-led protests over the NEET-UG examination snowballing into a nationwide agitation, driven by paper leaks, alleged police crackdowns on demonstrators and ongoing demands for accountability. Opposition parties have joined the chorus and are demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation besides a debate in Parliament on the issue.

 

In a late night video message for protesting students on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi announced that a bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks will be introduced in Parliament next week. In a video message late Thursday night, Modi also said the contours of the bill will be discussed at a meeting of the Union Cabinet to be held on Friday, where the proposed legislation will be finalised. “The Cabinet will discuss the issue of paper leaks on Friday and taking suggestions of the cabinet colleagues, further action would be finalised. “On Monday, when the second week of the Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin, a bill will be brought with provisions for strong action against paper leaks and we will try to pass it as early as possible,” he said.

 

The Prime Minister said he knows that paper leaks are not a small issue and for lakhs of students and their guardians, such incidents are extremely painful. Since NEET paper leak issue surfaced , several strong steps have been taken, he added. PM THANKS PEOPLE FOR RESPONSES, POSITIVE SUGGESTIONS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday thanked everyone for the responses and positive suggestions received to his video, where he announced the Government’s decision to bring a strict law to punish those involved in paper leaks. “Thank you, friends. I got the opportunity to talk to you at midnight. The way you have responded to my video, positive suggestions given by you, thanks to everybody. Your love will continue to flow; our relations will continue with more bonding. Thank you, thank you friends,” he said in the fresh video message released through his Instagram handle. Modi created a new world record with the most views on a reel in 24 hours, garnering 303 million views as of now. The earlier record was 300 million.