By: Priyanka Saurabh
The country’s strictest “anti-copying law” has come into force in Uttarakhand. Governor Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh has approved the Uttarakhand Competitive Examinations (Prevention and Measures for Prevention of Unfair Mean in Recruitment) Ordinance 2023. Under the ‘Anti-Copying Act’, candidates caught cheating will be punished and imprisoned for 10 years Ban will be imposed. There is a provision to impose a fine of 10 crores on the copying mafia with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail. Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copying mafia. This comes after the UKPSC paper leak, due to which the exam of around 1.4 lakh government job aspirants was canceled.
The Tea-Copying Act, of 1992 was an Indian law enacted in 1992 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh headed by Kalyan Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rajnath Singh, although he was the education minister in the Singh government at the time, credited the idea to Chief Minister Kalyan Singh himself. The law aims to stop the practice of rampant copying in school and university examinations in the state. The Act made the use of unfair means in examinations a cognizable offense and was non-bailable and allegedly allowed the police to enter the examination premises to conduct investigations. However, the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, which came to power in 1993, repealed it the following year.
The country’s most stringent anti-copying law has come into force in Uttarakhand to conduct fair and copy-free recruitment exams. This comes after the UKPSC paper leak, due to which the exam of around 1.4 lakh government job aspirants was canceled. The law is meant to prevent offenses related to obstructing the sanctity of examinations, use of unfair means, leakage of question papers, and other irregularities. Under the ‘Anti-Copying Law’, candidates indulging in cheating will be punished with three years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh. If the fine is not paid, the candidate will have to undergo additional imprisonment of nine months. Second-time offenders will be punished with a minimum jail term of 10 years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh. There is a provision to impose a fine of Rs 10 crore. Life imprisonment or 10 years in jail for the copycat mafia. Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copying mafia.
Anti-copying law has been made in Uttarakhand and under it, the first case has been registered against a student and a news portal because they said that the paper in the patwari exam held yesterday was not sealed. However, the commission said in the clarification that this happened because there are many pits in the mountains and this must have happened due to tremors. The police fiercely pushed that explanation. No one thought even for a moment that where every paper leak, every post rigged, and every exam question has been raised, hundreds are already in jails, it is necessary to clear the doubts of the students. The administration hastily filed a case against the student itself. Reading his explanation reminded me of my cylinder delivery guy. Even if the cylinder seal is broken, I am a cook and cook, but even being alone, the cylinder may not have run for a month, but he never accepted that there was something wrong with it. Every time its compulsion has been sinful stomach and marketing.
The next step for the Uttarakhand government is the implementation of the law. Strict guidelines and SOPs have to be adopted through which the law can be implemented. These guidelines are to be followed by various agencies including the police involved in conducting the examination. Online examination is conducted on a computer without physical question paper. Online examinations are gaining popularity with many universities, institutes, and competitive examination bodies switching from pen and paper-based tests. The online test, also known as CBT (Computer Based Test), is considered safe and reliable and has minimal risks on the security and fraud front. These exams are conducted in centers with adequate infrastructure like computers, stable internet connectivity, etc.
The chances of any kind of cheating or cheating in online exams are negligible, and if any interference takes place it can be easily detected and the guilty can be punished. Online examinations also reduce the time for checking answer sheets and preparing results. Many state governments are rapidly switching from offline to online modes of examinations due to their benefits, for example, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, State National Testing Agency, etc. It is an autonomous and self-sustaining testing agency set up by the Human Resource Department to examine It aims to conduct efficient, transparent, and international standard tests to assess the aptitude of candidates for admission and recruitment purposes. Conducts many important exams through online mode like IIT, JE exam, (Central University Entrance Exam), etc.
Frequent paper leaks destroy the credibility of the examination system in the country. The “Anti-Copying Act” is a much-awaited step by the Government of Uttarakhand to protect the rights of the hardworking youth, who work hard day and night. Other States/UTs who are facing similar threats should follow suit. Also, there is a need for strict guidelines and SOPs to implement the law in letter and spirit.
The writer is a Research Scholar in Political Science, poet, freelance journalist and columnist.
