Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 is a central law intended to prevent question-paper leaks and other organised unfair practices in specified public examinations. It seeks to improve transparency, fairness and credibility by penalising persons, organised groups, institutions and service providers involved in examination-related wrongdoing, while candidates remain governed by the existing administrative rules of the examination authority.

Objectives and scope

The Act targets organised examination malpractice and failures within the examination-delivery system rather than ordinary candidate misconduct.

• A public examination is an examination conducted by a public examination authority specified in the Schedule to the Act or subsequently notified by the Central Government.
• The scheduled authorities include the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection and National Testing Agency.
• The Act also covers examinations conducted by Central Government departments and their attached offices for recruitment of staff.
• The Central Government may notify additional public examination authorities and amend the Schedule.
• Candidates are outside the Act's penal framework and continue to be dealt with under the existing administrative provisions of the concerned examination authority.
• A service provider includes an agency engaged by a public examination authority to conduct a public examination or provide associated services.

Prohibited unfair means and related offences

The definition of unfair means covers interference with the confidentiality, conduct, assessment and technological infrastructure of a public examination.

• Leaking a question paper, answer key or any part of them is an unfair means.
• Colluding to cause a leak or obtaining a question paper or answer key without authority is prohibited.
• Providing unauthorised solutions during an examination or otherwise assisting a candidate without authority is prohibited.
• Tampering with answer sheets, including optical mark recognition response sheets, is prohibited.
• Altering an assessment without authority, except to correct a bona fide error, is prohibited.
• Wilfully violating prescribed norms or standards for conducting a public examination is prohibited.
• Tampering with documents used for shortlisting candidates or determining merit or rank is prohibited.
• Tampering with a computer network, computer resource or computer system connected with an examination is prohibited.
• Creating a fake website, conducting a fake examination, or issuing fake admit cards or offer letters for cheating or monetary gain is prohibited.
• Manipulating seating arrangements or the allocation of examination dates and shifts to facilitate unfair means is prohibited.
• Threatening, wrongfully restraining or obstructing persons associated with an examination, or disrupting its conduct, is prohibited.
• Collusion or conspiracy by a person, group or institution to facilitate unfair means is punishable.
• A person entrusted with confidential examination information must not disclose it except in the discharge of authorised duties, and sealed question-paper packets must not be opened before the prescribed time.

Penalties and institutional liability

• A person committing an offence involving unfair means is punishable with imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of up to ₹10 lakh.
• A service provider that fails to report an offence or does not comply with its statutory obligations may be fined up to ₹1 crore.
• The proportionate cost of the examination may be recovered from a defaulting service provider, which may also be barred for four years from conducting public examinations.
• Where an offence by a service provider is committed with the consent or connivance of a director or senior management, the responsible person is punishable with imprisonment of three to ten years and a fine of ₹1 crore.
• Organised crime under the Act is punishable with imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of at least ₹1 crore.
• Where an institution is involved in organised crime, its property may be attached and forfeited, and the proportionate cost of the examination may be recovered from it.

Investigation and enforcement

The Act creates a stringent criminal-procedure framework for offences affecting public examinations.

• Every offence under the Act is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
• An investigation must be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police.
• The Central Government may refer an investigation to a central investigating agency.
• The Act protects actions taken in good faith by the Central Government, public examination authorities and their officers in carrying out its provisions.

How UPSC asks this

For Prelims, focus on the examinations covered, exclusion of candidates, listed unfair means, penalty ranges and the cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable nature of offences. For Mains, assess whether central criminal penalties, service-provider accountability and specialised investigation can deter organised examination fraud while ensuring effective implementation and procedural fairness.