Why will the case of UGC-NET cancelled on 19th not come under the purview of the new law?

New Delhi: Now, any conspiracy to rig the exams held for admission in government colleges or government jobs will have to face strict punishment. The government has announced the implementation of the law made by the Parliament amidst the ongoing uproar over the irregularities in the NEET and NET exams. Under this law, the person involved in cheating can be jailed for up to 5 years and fined up to Rs 1 crore. But this new strict law will not be able to crack down on those who rig both NEET and NET exams. After the rigging was detected, the UGC-NET exam held on June 19 has been cancelled. The government has handed over its investigation to the CBI.

Which law, implemented from when?

The Central Government has notified the ‘Government Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024’. This law has been made to prevent copying and cheating in government recruitment examinations. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a notification saying, ‘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 appoints June 21, 2024 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.’

All these crimes are under the purview of the new law

The Act provides for punishment for offences such as ‘leaking of question paper or answer key’, ‘unauthorisedly assisting any candidate in any government examination in any manner’ and ‘tampering with computer network or computer resource or computer system’ by any person, group of persons or institutions. Apart from these, ‘creating fake website for cheating or earning money’, ‘conducting fake examinations, issuing fake admit cards or appointment letters for cheating or earning money’ and ‘manipulation of seating arrangements, allotment of dates and shifts to candidates to facilitate adoption of unfair means in examinations’ are also among the offences punishable under this Act.

Criminals will miss their grandmother

The Act states, ‘Any person or persons who resort to unfair means and commits an offence under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment of at least three years which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine up to Rs 10 lakh.’ According to the Act, the service provider appointed by the government examination authority for conducting the examination can also be punished with a fine of up to Rs 1 crore ‘and proportionate cost of the examination shall also be recovered from him/her’. Such service providers will also be barred from being entrusted with any responsibility for the conduct of any government examination for a period of four years.

The Act defines service provider as any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or sole proprietorship firm, including its affiliates, co-contractors and support providers of any computer resources or any material, by whatever name called, ‘which is appointed by the Public Examinations Authority for the conduct of public examinations’.

Know why UGC NET exam is not in the scope

Since the government has made it clear in its notification that ‘the Central Government appoints June 21, 2024 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act will come into force’, this law cannot be applied to cases before that. In fact, the constitutional and legal system says that no law can be implemented with retrospective effect, unless its nature is the same and such provision has not been made in the law itself.