Introduction

In India, the exam paper leak phenomenon is not new. Especially in government jobs, this problem is endemic. Over the years, the modus operandi has undergone significant changes. Now, more sophisticated methods are in practice. Further, the scale and stakes involved are, at present, infinitely higher. Moreover, the culprits involved in such cases of cheating become suddenly elusive and very difficult to apprehend. Lastly, the scamsters operate through a well-organized network which runs through many States. In the preceding so many years, the exam paper leaks have been a bane in at least 15 States, affecting adversely the chances of over 10 million job aspirants.1 In the whirlpool of exam paper leaks, a large number of job aspirants have lost their lives. They prepare hard for the exams spending their valuable time and money in the hope that they would get the job by clearing the exams. But the first and foremost condition is that the exam must be fair and transparent. If that doesn't happen, their dreams are ruthlessly shattered.

Ground Report of Exam Paper Leaks During the Last Five Years

At least, 41 government competitive exams have been compromised in the past five years. The State-wise position is given below. 2

The Legal Regime to Fight Against Cheating in Exams

1. The following States namely, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are equipped with anti-cheating laws to maintain the sanctity of exams. The Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act in July 2023 passed an amendment to raise the maximum penalty for those involved to life imprisonment.3
2. On February 5, 2024, the Central Government introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 which was passed by the Parliament on February 9, and the President gave her assent to the Bill on 9th February. On February 12,2024, the government notified the Act in the official gazette.
3. Under the purview of the new legislation falls the exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, RRBs, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, central ministries or departments and their attached and subordinate offices, National Testing Agency and any other authority notified by the Centre. Thus, all service providers, engaged by the public examination authority for the conduct of the examination will be liable for punishment as well as heavy penalties, which comprise a minimum jail term of three years and a fine of up to Rs. 1 crore.4
4. The following offences are covered under new law:
   (i) Leaking of question paper, answer key, illegal possession of optical mark recognition response sheet, providing solutions at a public exam.
   (ii) Tampering with answer sheets or network involved, in exam process, candidates’ shortlisted document;
   (iii) Manipulating exam seating arrangements, dates, shifts.
   (iv) Creating fake websites, holding fake exams, issuing fake admit cards/offer letters.

The punishment

• 3-5 years’ in jail, fine up to Rs. 10 lakh.
• Service provider (agency conducting a recruitment exam) liable for 3-10 years’ jail, Rs. 1 crore fine.
• Seizure of property of institutions involved in crime.

Some Specific Cases of Exam Paper Leaks in the Country

1. Question paper leak of Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 was conducted by the UP Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on February 11, 2024. The Special Task Force (STF) has apprehended two key accused including a manager of RO/ARO exam centre in Para (Lucknow), Saurabh Shukla, and a UP Police constable Arun Kumar Singh, who was sacked after his involvement in question paper leak of teachers’ recruitment exam held in 2019. However, the mastermind Rajiv Narain Mishra was absconding.
2. The UP Police constable recruitment, 2024, exam paper was leaked on February 17 and 18 by breaking into the premises of a firm based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Question papers of UP Police's biggest recruitment exam for 60,244 posts of constables were apparently left unmonitored at an Ahmedabad warehouse of a transport company, which was hired by an agency selected by the UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board for printing and transporting papers to recruitment centres safely. The question paper leak suggested that an outsider easily went inside the warehouse with the help of its employers and clicked photographs after opening the storage trunk from the rear. Its mastermind was the same Rajiv Narayan Mishra who was involved in the RO/ARO exam paper leaks. He was later arrested on April 2, 2024, from Greater Noida, UP.6
   Both the cases are under investigation of the UP Police.
3. 3. RRB exam paper Leak took place at the time of exam for the recruitment of 1,936 assistant station masters and assistant loco pilots. In this case, the CBI filed a chargesheet in September 2010. Conviction has taken about a decade and a half. The CBI special court sentenced former Railway Recruitment Board chairman Satendra Mohan Sharma and nine others to five years of rigorous imprisonment in an examination paper leak case dating back to the first month of 2024. According to the CBI, Sharma's men used private agents to lure the job aspirants. After taking an advance (the CBI recovered Rs. 36.9 lakh in cash), the selected candidates were shifted to Goa, Solapur and Nagpur, where they were tutored to answer the leaked questions.7
4. In a chargesheet filed by CBI on January 1 against 15 accused for alleged irregularities in the written exam for junior engineers (civil) for the Jal Shakti departments in J&K, seven were security personnel, among them a former J&K assistant sub-inspector, an ex-CRPF head constable, an ex-army sepoy.8
5. On January 9, the central agency booked nine individuals, which included railwaymen besides officials of an Andheri-based private firm, in a case pertaining to the leak of the exam paper for junior clerks/typists conducted by the Western Railways in 2021.9
6. On February 11, Jharkhand Assembly under-secretary Mohammad Shamim and his two sons were among the 14 people arrested for the alleged leak of the question paper for the General Graduate qualified combined competition. The SSC had to cancel the third shift of the said exam on January 28.10

Conclusion

Frequent paper leaks and exam manipulations have snatched a golden opportunity temporarily, of getting a government job for many, and for some aspirants, permanently due to age factor. After the scam, the long process of litigation and prior to it, investigation, indeed, took a heavy toll on the examination candidates. This has resulted in shattering of dreams of a better future for those who prepare for such exams with hard labour and sincerity. On the other hand, the culprits operate well-oiled machinery for the purpose of paper leaks, and it proves to be a Herculean task for the police and other investigating agencies to bring them to book. Now, feeling the need for a central law, the central government has brought legislation to control the menace of paper leak scams. Many States have already passed such legislation in the past. This is high time that the law-enforcement agencies took a vigorous initiative to control the deteriorating situation. Such things leave a depressing scar on the psyche of young aspirants which is not good for the nation. Here, it would be pertinent to note that dealing with paper leaks is not the specific job of policemen only. It requires the active involvement of civil society also. This is the time to act, and act strongly and timely.

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References:

1. Amitabh Srivastava, Plugging The Leaks, India Today, March 4, 2024.
2. Ibid.,p.56.
3. Ibid. p.96.
4. Ibid. p.54-55.
5. Ibid., p.55.
6. HT Correspondent, ‘Same mastermind behind police and RO/ARO exam paper leaks’ , Hindustan Times, Mar 16, 2024.
7. Amitabh Srivastava, Plugging The Leaks, India Today, Mar 4, 2024.
8. Ibid. p.56.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.