New Bill Sets 3-Month Deadline for High Courts to Dispose of Paper Leak Appeals

The Union government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that seeks to impose strict timelines for the investigation and judicial process in cases of examination paper leaks. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, circulated to MPs on Saturday, proposes a three-month deadline for high courts to dispose of appeals against orders of special fast-track courts.

Currently, there is no fixed timeline for deciding such appeals. The bill aims to convert the open-ended process into a time-bound one, ensuring faster disposal of cases. It also proposes increased penalties for individuals, service providers, and organised gangs involved in paper leaks.

Under the proposed law, the minimum jail term for offences committed by individuals, as well as directors, senior management personnel, or persons in charge of service providers conducting public examinations, has been increased to five years. In cases involving organised crime, the minimum imprisonment has been proposed at seven years, up from the current five years. The maximum jail term in all such cases would be 10 years.

For speedy investigations, the bill empowers the government to constitute a central investigation agency or a special task force (STF). Where an STF is constituted, it would carry out the investigation. The bill also seeks to insert a new provision mandating that every investigation be completed within two months.

The bill provides for day-to-day proceedings and empowers states to establish special fast-track courts in consultation with the chief justice of the respective high court. It mandates that trial proceedings shall continue until all witnesses in attendance have been examined. These courts would be required to dispose of cases within three months from the date of filing of the chargesheet. All pending trials will be shifted to the special court, and these must also be disposed of within three months.

Any appeal against an order of a fast-track court shall be heard by a division bench of the high court. The bill proposes that every appeal be filed within 30 days from the date of the fast-track court's order and not after a maximum of 90 days under any circumstances.

The bill is scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. It aims to address concerns over exam paper leaks, which have affected the integrity of public examinations in recent years.