The Central Government has enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, to address and prevent unfair practices during public examinations.

Effective from June 21, the law aims to prevent and penalize unfair practices in public examinations. The Act addresses various dishonest activities, including leaking question papers, tampering with answer sheets, manipulating seating arrangements, creating fake websites for monetary gain, and conducting fraudulent exams.

The Bill proposing this law was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 5 and passed the following day. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on February 9. It received Presidential assent on February 12 and was officially notified by the Central government in the Official Gazette on June 21 (Friday).

The notification of the law comes amid nationwide controversy over alleged malpractices in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical college admissions. Recently, the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) was also canceled due to similar concerns.

The newly notified Act classifies all offenses as cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. Individuals caught using unfair means in public exams may face imprisonment for 3 to 5 years and a fine of up to ₹10 lakh.

Service providers found guilty of facilitating unfair practices may be fined up to ₹1 crore. Additionally, the proportionate costs of the exam will be recovered from these service providers, who will also be barred from conducting any public exam for four years.

Furthermore, senior officials such as Directors, Senior Management, and individuals in charge of the service provider entity will face imprisonment for three to ten years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore if they are found to be involved in any scheme permitting unfair practices.

If any person or group, including those associated with the public exam authority and the service provider, is found guilty of committing an organized crime related to the exam's conduct, they will face imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of at least ₹1 crore.

Failure to pay the fine will result in additional imprisonment, according to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is enacted, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will apply, as stated in the Act.