June 24, 2024 6:02 PM.
The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Dr. M K Ramesh has said that the Central Government is carrying out an impartial inquiry against the NEET exam paper leakage incident.
Speaking exclusively to Akashvani News in Bengaluru today, he said that all the Stakeholders must take up the responsibility of ensuring that the examinations are conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
Centre Notifies anti-paper leak law amid NEET, NET row. Rs 1 crore fine, jail up to 10 years for offenders.
As the Education Ministry and the National Testing Agency (NTA) grapple with allegations of paper leaks, the Centre Friday notified a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations.
The law which came into force from Friday night (June 21) is said to entail provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central Government hereby appoints the 21st day of June, 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” reads the notification by the Personnel Ministry.
This comes just a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the law ministry was framing rules about the implementation of the legislation. President Droupadi Murmu gave the go ahead to The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, making it a law in February this year. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on February 6 and by the Rajya Sabha on February 9.
Before this legislation, there was no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of public examinations by the central government and its agencies.
Reacting the anti-paper leak law, the Opposition Congress party has termed the Centre’s decision to implement it now as “damage control”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said that the law was needed but it deals with question paper leaks and other irregularities after they have occurred.