At last, Parliament has begun its debate on the tough anti-paper leak bill, named Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill. Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh initiated the debate. He vowed stringent action against all those who are found guilty of leaking question papers in public examinations.
Jitendra Singh said, special fast track courts have been set up in Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand for speedy hearing of paper leak cases. The bill will be applicable not only on National Testing Agency, but also on all examinations conducted by UPSC, SSC, Railway, public sector banks and other tests conducted by the Centre.
Those found guilty of leaking question papers will face five to ten years’ imprisonment and fine up to Rs 50 lakh. Organized crime gang found guilty will face seven to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines up to Rs 10 crore. Outsourcing agency found guilty of lapses in biometric checking, transportation of question papers, etc. will have to face five to ten years’ imprisonment and fines up to Rs five crore.
Under the new law, it will be mandatory to complete investigations within two months, fast track courts will have to complete hearing within three months, verdicts by fast track courts can be challenged within ten days before High Court, and the High Court will have to give its verdict within three months. The “taarikh pe taarikh” system will be over.
Those in the opposition who are questioning why a new law has been introduced were the ones who had been complaining that the previous legislation was weak. In the previous law, those arrested on charges of paper leak used to get bail easily. Cases used to drag on for years in courts and punishment was delayed. The government has taken the initiative to change this.
Those arrested on charges of paper leak will not get bail easily. Final verdict will come within six months and jail terms and fines have been increased. It is now up to the opposition to come forward with valid suggestions if it wants more changes in the amendment bill. The government is also working under pressure. In order to make the system foolproof, a high-powered task force has been set up led by Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys.
This task force will give concrete suggestions on how to make examinations foolproof. It will also suggest means for improving the present recruitment system. There is no denying the fact that the massive student movement made the government wake up. A new law was drafted. A task force was set up and its wisdom can be relied upon. The opposition has been playing a game of one-upmanship.
Opposition leaders felt that if the bill is passed smoothly after a debate, the government will make a safe exit from the nationwide furore created by students. The opposition does not want the government to corner credit for enacting this law. All sorts of excuses were used to corner the government. It is a good thing that a foolproof system to curb paper leaks will come into effect through this new law.
There will be fear of law in the minds of paper leak mafias. The main issue is creating trust in the minds of students and their parents, so that they can feel that the system is working and the government is sensitive to their problems. As far as lifting of cases filed against student protesters is concerned, I want to recall what former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve told me in his interview in my show “Aaj Ki Baat”.
Harish Salve said, in his 45-years-long legal career, he did not find a single case where any protester was punished for taking part in demonstrations. Salve is right. In my student life, I took part in several agitations. There were cases filed against me, but in the end, all these cases were withdrawn. Similarly, this time too, all FIRs filed against students will be withdrawn and no cases will be initiated. Of course, this process takes time, but in the end, protesters are let off by the police.