4 min readShimlaSep 2, 2025 10:54 PM IST
First published on: Sep 2, 2025 at 10:54 PM IST
The Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Tuesday passed a Bill that seeks to make offences pertaining to paper leak, organized cheating, and other unfair means in public examinations cognisable and non-bailable.
The Himachal Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2025 h as now been sent to the Raj Bhavan for Gubernatorial assent.
Under the provisions of the Bill, anyone found guilty of cheating, abetting cheating, or leaking papers would face a minimum of three years and up to five years’ imprisonment along with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. Both punishment and fine can also be imposed simultaneously. Additionally, if the service provider or senior officials are found guilty of malpractice, the Bill provides for a penalty of up to Rs1 crore. The Bill mandates that all expenses incurred on such examination will be recovered from them, and they will be barred for four years from conducting any recruitment test. Directors or employees of such service providers could also face imprisonment between three and 10 years if found complicit.
The Bill, tabled Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Monday, was passed by voice vote without any Opposition or discussion.
Tabling the Bill, Sukhu said, “Malpractices in public examinations often result in delays or cancellations, thereby jeopardising the prospects of millions of young candidates. At present, there is no specific substantive law to comprehensively address the use of unfair means or offences committed by individuals, groups, or institutions involved in the conduct of public examinations by the state government and its agencies. It is, therefore, essential to identify such exploitative practices and address them effectively through a comprehensive State legislation”.
“The objective of the Bill is to ensure greater transparency, fairness, and credibility in the public examination system, and to reassure the youth that their genuine efforts will be duly recognised and their future is safe. The Bill seeks to provide a strong legal framework to deter individuals, organised groups, and institutions from indulging in unfair practices that undermine the integrity of public examinations for monetary or other wrongful gains.,” he added.
Under the provisions of the Bill, individuals caught cheating, abettimg, or leaking question papers will face imprisonment of three to five years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh. In cases involving service providers, the punishment is severe.
“Where it is established during the investigation that offence under this Act has been committed with the consent or connivance of any Director, Senior Management or the persons in-charge of the service provider firm, he shall be liable for imprisonment for a term not less than three years but which may extend to 10 years and with fine of Rs 1 Crore. In case of default of payment offline, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” as per the Bill.
To ensure robust enforcement, the Bill authorizes only officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) or above to investigate such cases. The state government will also have the power to transfer probes to specialized investigating agencies.
The legislation comes in the wake of multiple paper leak scandals in the state, notably the police recruitment exam scam that resulted in the suspension of the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission in December 2022 and its dissolution in February 2023.
CM Sukhu said the law aims to “restore transparency, accountability, and public trust in recruitment processes while protecting the future of lakhs of aspirants.”
Two other bills were also passed:
The Assembly also passed two other Bills — Bill on Levying Tax on Transport of Certain Goods on Roads, and The Registration (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill 2025. The bill on Levying Tax on Transport of Certain Goods on Roads includes provisions for recovery of outstanding taxes. The Registration (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed describing that it has become necessary to provide comprehensive legal amendments for seeking online and paperless registration without requiring physical presence.
The Bill, tabled Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Monday, was passed by voice vote without any Opposition or discussion. (File) 
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