Bihar Assembly passes Anti-Paper Leak Bill; opposition walks out

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 24 (ANI): The Bihar Assembly passed the Anti-Paper Leak Bill with a voice vote on Wednesday, amid a walkout by the opposition.

The Bihar Assembly passed the Bihar Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 on Wednesday.

This legislation, introduced by State Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, aims to combat malpractices in government recruitment exams and was passed with a voice vote amidst a walkout by the opposition.

The bill proposes penalties for those involved in malpractices, including a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of at least Rs 1 crore.

While speaking with reporters, Chaudhary said, “We have stated in the House that there is a need to make a strict law against the malpractice or use of unfair means in examinations. You all know that right now, the issue of NEET is ongoing, which reached the Supreme Court. It is true that today there is a need to restore transparency and credibility in public examinations. Those who use unfair means play with the future of the intelligent, hardworking students of our state. You must have seen that in this bill, strict rules have been made against those who commit such irregularities.”

He added, “If any agencies are involved in malpractices, it proposes 10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore for the criminals. That is why this strict law has been made, and we hope that the future of bright and hardworking students of Bihar will be secure.”

The bill comes after alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination conducted by the National Testing Agency. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Under Graduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination held on May 5, holding that there was no systemic breach in the exam.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that at the present stage, there is an absence of material on record to lead to the conclusion that the result of the exam is vitiated or that there is any systematic breach.

The bench stated that the data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak of the NEET-UG question paper, which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the exam.

However, it acknowledged that the leak of the NEET-UG paper took place at Hazaribagh and Patna and said that it is "not in dispute". (ANI)