The Karnataka government tabled a Bill in the Assembly on Wednesday, December 6, to address widespread irregularities and corrupt and unfair practices in public examinations in the state. The proposed legislation, titled the Karnataka Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Corruption and Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, outlines stringent provisions, including imprisonment for up to 10 years and fines up to Rs 10 crore, aimed at preventing offences such as question paper leaks and the use of unfair means during public recruitment exams for state government positions.
The proposed law recommends the establishment of a designated court to handle the trial of such offences, along with penalties such as attachment and confiscation of property. Under the bill, individuals engaging in unfair means during exams may face imprisonment for up to four years and a fine of not less than Rs 10 lakh. Those responsible for conducting exams and resorting to unfair means could be sentenced to 8-12 years in prison, along with fines ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 10 crore. The provisions of this Bill would apply to recruitment exams for all government posts.
The Bill defines 'unfair means' as the unauthorised assistance in public exams, whether direct or indirect, from any person or group, the use of unauthorised written, recorded, copied, or printed material, or the use of unauthorised electronic or mechanical instruments or gadgets. It also encompasses the leakage or procurement of question papers.
This legislative initiative comes in response to recent controversies surrounding various recruitment exams. Examples include question paper leaks in exams like the Karnataka Public Service Commission's First Division Assistant (FDA) exam in 2021 and the Karnataka Examination Authority's assistant lecturer exam in 2022. Cases of cheating, such as candidates attempting to use Bluetooth devices during competitive exams were also the reason behind the proposed legislation.
Another major exam scam that was reported recently which rocked Karnataka was the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam. In the written exam held in October 2021, more than 50 out of the 545 selected candidates were identified as having cheated. The scam led to the arrest of senior IPS officer Amrit Paul, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in facilitating the irregularities.
In many such scams, a common link was RD Patil, brother of Mahanthesh D Patil, the former president of the Congress party’s Afzalpur unit.
Allegations against Patil ranged from acquiring question papers beforehand to aiding candidates in surreptitiously entering examination centres with Bluetooth devices, and even manipulating answer sheets stored in police strong rooms. On November 11, Kalaburagi Police arrested Patil, the kingpin behind all major recruitment examination scams in Karnataka, from Akkalkot in Maharashtra.