At centre of NEET fiasco, Bihar passes Bill to curb paper leaks, lays down stringent punishment

The proposed law is aimed at curbing malpractices in examinations conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), Bihar Technical Service Commission (BTSC), Bihar Police Subordinate Service Commission (BPSSC) and other Central and state government agencies.

Under the Bill, all offences will be cognizable and non-bailable. In February 2024, the Centre had passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, to curb malpractices in public examinations. Assam, Arunachal and Rajasthan have passed similar bills.

A Bihar government official confirmed that the NEET-UG was the trigger for the proposed legislation.

“The state government was left embarrassed because of the involvement of the Nalanda solver gang. Earlier this year, there had been cancellation of teachers’ recruitment examinations in the wake of a paper leak.” That examination is yet to be rescheduled.

The Bihar Public Service Commission Mains examination 2022 also had to be postponed because of an alleged paper leak. The constables’ examination 2022 was also cancelled owing to an alleged leak.

Addressing the House, Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said that the Bill was “in line” with the central law. “We wonder why the Opposition chose to protest it when it is in the larger interest of job aspirants in the state,” Choudhary, a leader of the ruling Janata Dal (United) asked.

However, Mrityunjay Tiwari, spokesperson of the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), denied being against the Bill. “But the Opposition should have taken into confidence and there had to be debate on it. The Opposition’s point of view is not taken into account these days. It’s not good for democracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, several Indian Youth Congress leaders holding protests against the NEET-UG paper leak were allegedly wounded in police lathicharge near the state legislature in Patna. According to Indian Youth Congress national president Srinivas B.V., the protesters were heading to gherao the legislature when the incident occurred.

Srinivas is believed to have suffered minor injuries in the police action.

“A brutal lathicharge had been unleashed on Youth Congress leaders during Vidhan Sabha gherao programme. But (the) double engine government should remember that their days are counted and each lathicharge would be accounted for,” he said in a post on X.

A senior police officer confirmed the police action.

“We had to open lathicharge when Congress leaders broke through the barricades and tried to resist police force. We used lathicharge below waist areas according to the standard procedure (in such cases). We’ve so far have not come across instances of any serious injuries because of this,” the officer said.