The Bihar Assembly on Wednesday passed a Bill aimed at curbing the scourge of question paper leaks and other malpractices in recruitment tests conducted by the State.

The Bihar Public Examinations (PE) (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, was moved by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and passed through voice vote amidst a walkout staged by the Opposition.

The new legislation targets curbing malpractices in competitive examinations, including the leak of question papers, in the State which, incidentally, has also been at the centre of the NEET 2024 paper leak controversy.

The Bill stipulates severe punishment for those involved in such malpractices, including a prison term of three to five years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

Service providers, a term used to describe agencies entrusted with conducting such tests, could be slapped with a fine of Rs one crore besides debarment of services for up to four years and even attachment of properties, Chaudhary told the House.

A portion of the total cost of conducting such an examination will also be recovered from the offending service provider, the minister said.

He also said the bill, “brought with the future of lakhs of young men and women in mind”, provided that investigating officers in such cases shall “not be below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police”.

It may be recalled that the state has, of late, been in the news for the Bihar Public Service Commission’s (BPSC) Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE 3.0) paper leak case.

The new legislation also comes in the backdrop of stringent anti-paper leak laws enacted by the Centre and states like Uttar Pradesh.