Maharashtra’s draft bill against unfair practices in competitive exams, prescribes 5 years in prison

The Maharashtra government on Friday introduced a bill aimed at preventing the use of unfair means in competitive exams, which includes a jail sentence of up to five years.

“Currently, there is no specific substantive law addressing unfair means adopted or crimes committed by various entities involved in conducting competitive examinations. Therefore, it is necessary to identify elements exploiting the security loopholes in the examination system and effectively address them through comprehensive state legislation,” the statement of aims and reasons reads.

The bill was introduced in the Maharashtra State Assembly by Chief Minister Shambhuraj Desai.

The objective of the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 is to enhance transparency, fairness and credibility in the competitive examination system and to assure young people that their sincere and honest efforts are fairly rewarded and their future is secure.

The main assumptions of the draft law are to define the obligations of persons issuing securities; to impose liability on service providers and other persons associated with them; to introduce penalties for crimes committed and severe penalties for organised crime and to authorise officers not lower in rank than deputy police commissioner or deputy police commissioner to investigate crimes.

As per the Act, the offence under this Act will be punishable with imprisonment for three years which may extend to five years and with fine up to Rs 10 lakh. The service provider will be liable to fine up to Rs 1 crore and proportionate cost of the examination will be recovered and the provider will be disqualified for four years. The person found liable on the part of the service provider may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and with fine which may not be less than Rs 1 crore.

Earlier this week, the Opposition had demanded that the government enact a law against unfair practices in competitive examinations, on the lines of the Centre’s Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024. Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the bill would be enacted during the ongoing monsoon session.

First message: Jul 05, 2024 at 17:43 IST