U.P. PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 1998

U.P. PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 1998

(U.P. Act No. 13 of 1998)

Received the assent of the Governor on March 28, 1998 and published in the U.P. Gazette, Extraordinary Part 1, Section (Ka), dated 30th March, 1998. pp. 4-6.

An Act to prevent the leakage of question papers and the use of unfair means at public examinations and to provide for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto

It is hereby enacted in the Forty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows-

Chapter I

Preliminary

1. Short title and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1998.

(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on March 18, 1998.

2. Definitions. - In this Act,-

(a) 'examination centre' means any institution or part thereof or any other place fixed for the holding of a public examination and includes the entire premises attached thereto;

(b) 'examinee' means a person who has been granted permission to appear in a public examination, and includes a person authorised to act as subscribe on his behalf;

(c) 'public examination' means an examination specified in the Schedule, conducted for the awarding or granting of any degree, diploma, certificate or any other academic distinction to a person who is lawfully declared to have been successful at such examination;

(d) 'unfair means' in relation to an examinee while answering questions in a public examination means the unauthorised help from any person directly or indirectly, or from any material written, recorded, copied or printed, in any form whatsoever, or the use of any unauthorised telephonic, wireless or electronic or other instrument or gadget.

Chapter II

Prevention of Unfair Means

3. Prohibition of the use of unfair means. - No examinee shall use unfair means at any public examination.

4. Unauthorised possession and disclosure of question paper. - No person, who is not lawfully authorised or permitted by virtue of his duties so to do shall, before the time fixed for distribution of question papers to examinees at a public examination,-

(a) procure or attempt to procure or possess, such question paper or any portion or a copy thereof; or

(b) impart, or offer to impart, information which he knows or has reason to believe, to be related to, or derived from, or to have a bearing upon such question paper.

5. Prevention of leakage by person entrusted with examination work. - No person, who is entrusted with any work pertaining to public examination shall, except where he is permitted by virtue of his duties so to do, directly or indirectly divulge or cause to be divulged or make known to any other person any information or part thereof which has come to his knowledge by virtue of the work being so entrusted to him.

6. Prohibition on entry into an Examination Centre. - No person, who is not entrusted with any work pertaining to public examination, or who is not an examinee shall during the continuance of public examination enter into an examination centre or having entered into such centre remain there or provide any help or assistance to an examinee in using unfair means in the public examination.

7. No person on the management, etc. shall assist an examinee. - No person, who is on the management or on the staff of an institution which is being used for the holding of a public examination, or who is entrusted with any work pertaining to public examination, shall provide any help or assistance to an examinee in using unfair means in public examination.

8. No place other than examination centre shall be used for public examination. - No person shall use or cause to be used any place, other than the examination centre, for the purposes of holding of public examination.

Chapter III

Penalty and Procedure

9. Penalty for use of unfair means. - Whoever, contravenes or attempts to contravene or abets the contravention of the provisions of Section 3 shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.

10. Penalty for leakage. - Whoever, contravenes or attempts to contravene or abets the contravention of the provisions of Section 4 or Section 5 or Section 6 or Section 7 or Section 8, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both.

11. Penalty for offence with preparation to cause hurt, etc. - Whoever, commits an offence punishable under Section 9 or Section 10 having made preparation for causing death of any person or causing hurt to any person or assaulting any person or for wrongfully restraining any person or for putting any person in fear of death or hurt or assault or wrongful restraint shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both.

12. Procedure. - (1) An offence punishable under Section 9 shall be cognizable and bailable.

(2) An offence punishable under Section 10 or Section 11 shall be cognizable and non-bailable.

(3) All offences punishable under this Act shall be tried summarily by a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class and the provisions of sub-section (1) of (Section 262, Section 263, Section 264 and Section 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall mutatis mutandis apply to such summary trial.

Chapter IV

Miscellaneous

13. Protection of action taken in good faith. - No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the State Government or any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder.

14. Power to amend Schedule. - The State Government may, by notification include in the Schedule, any other examination, in respect of which it considers necessary to apply the provisions of this Act and upon the publication of such notification in the Gazette the Schedule shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.

15. Power to make rules. - The State Government may, by notification make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

16. Repeal and savings. - (1) The Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Ordinance, 1998 (U.P. Ordinance No. 2 of 1998) is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal anything done or any action taken under the provisions of the ordinance referred to in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act as if the provisions of this Act were in force at all material times.

Schedule

[See Section 2 (c)]

1. High School and Intermediate examinations conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Uttar Pradesh under the Intermediate Education Act, 1921.

2. Any examination conducted by any University or any other Board or body established by or under an Uttar Pradesh Act.