Monsoon session from Aug 18: Himachal to bring bill to check cheating in exams
Under the new proposed legislation there will be a provision of punishment up to three years for those who sell, buy or get the paper copied; this step is being considered very important in terms of protecting the future of the youth
Himachal Pradesh government is all set to introduce a new bill to curb the increasing incidents of paper leaks, in the upcoming monsoon session scheduled to be held from August 18 till September 2.
With 12 sittings, this will probably be one of the longest monsoon sessions of the hill state with August 21 and 28 fixed for non-official member working days.
The session will commence on August 18 at 2 pm and there will be obituary references on the first day. There will be a total of 12 sittings in this monsoon session, with August 21 and 28 fixed for non-official member working days.
The last monsoon session in 2024 had a total of 11 sittings and was held between August 27 and September 10.
The state government will table the HP Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2025, draft of which has been approved by the state cabinet during the 4-day marathon cabinet meetings held recently.
Under the new proposed legislation there will be a provision of punishment up to three years for those who sell, buy or get the paper copied. This step is being considered very important in terms of protecting the future of the youth.
The jail term can be extended to five years with fine up to ₹10 lakh. “The service provider shall also be liable to be punished with imposition of fine of ₹1 crore and proportionate cost of examination shall be recovered from such service providers and he shall be barred from being assigned with any responsibility of the conduct of any public examination for period of four years,” shared a senior government official requesting anonymity.
In the proposed legislation if it is established during the investigation that the offence of cheating, paperleak has been committed “with the consent or connivance of any director, senior management or the persons in-charge of the service provider firm, he shall be liable for imprisonment for a term not less than 3 years but which may extend to 10 years and with fine of ₹1 crore.”
The need of the new legislation arose after the recent incidents of alleged paper leaks, including in the police requirement exams.
In June this year, Kangra police had busted a cheating racket during the Himachal Pradesh Police Constable recruitment examination by promising to help them pass the examination in exchange for money. The exam, conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, was held across the state on June 15. A case was registered at Palampur police station under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Even in 2022 the police recruitment were marred with paper leak case in which CBI in March 2024 had filed two chargesheets against 88 accused in on-going investigation of cases related to leakage of question papers of HP Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2022 held in March 2022. Even in 2019 illegal bluetooth device usage incident was reported during recruitment.
BJP to corner govt on lottery system
Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to corner Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government on issues reintroduction of the lottery system, mishandling disaster relief and failing to deliver on development promises even after nearly three years in power in the upcoming monsoon session.
Leader of Opposition and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Monday said that disaster relief, lottery policy, and issues related to unemployment and youth protests will be key matters during the monsoon session of the assembly beginning August 18.
“The lottery issue is not in public interest. The government has failed to fulfil the guarantees it made before elections. Cabinet meetings are irregular, jobs are being cancelled or postponed. Youth are protesting on the streets,” he said.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the slow pace of disaster response in the state after recent floods and rains, he said, “The situation is still not normal. In my own constituency, the damage exceeds ₹1,000 crore. Roads remain disrupted, heavy vehicles can’t move, power and water supply haven’t been fully restored even after a month,” he said.
Lottery not in interest of public: Jai Ram
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Monday alleged that a “massive deal” and lobbying led to the controversial reintroduction of lottery operations in the state.
“The decision is not in public interest nor in the interest of the state. There’s a massive lobby behind this move, and a major deal has taken place. The CM must intervene and order an investigation,” said Thakur, adding “There is a plan for a big scam under the guise of lottery”.
The Leader of Opposition said, “Himachal government is citing poor fiscal health of the state to justify the decision of starting the lottery. It is not right to increase income by destroying people’s houses. Dhumal government in 1999 had banned lottery considering that many families were ruined and houses were being auctioned,” said Thakur while pointing out that even former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who once initiated lotteries, later rolled them back, realising the social harm.
“Himachal is in an economic crisis. The government says it needs to generate revenue, but not at the cost of people’s lives. The state is introducing taxes on everything and starting lotteries, yet economic conditions haven’t improved,” he said, adding that “powerful lobby has succeeded this time. The CM must investigate this serious matter.”
Jai Ram should not mislead people: Chauhan
Principal advisor (media) Naresh Chauhan said, “Jai Ram Thakur should stop misleading people. If he finds something wrong, he should reveal the names of those who are conspiring. Do not mislead the public by giving such baseless statements”.
