Apart from this, there is a provision to seize and confiscate the accused's property.
The Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair means) Bill, 2023 which was introduced to members of the Gujarat Assembly has proposed a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a fine not less than Rs 1 crore for indulging in the crime of leaking question papers of various government recruitment examinations.
The Bill is expected to be taken up for formal discussion during the upcoming budget session
As per the new bill draft, any person found guilty of misconduct shall be liable to imprisonment for a term that may extend to three years and a fine of less than one lakh rupees. And in case of default in payment of fine, such candidates may also be punished with imprisonment.
When any person, whether or not an authorized person entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the examination, conspires or commits or attempts to commit malpractice in tampering with the question paper, such person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than five years but not exceeding 10 years. And the provision of monetary penalty ranging from ten lakh rupees to Rs1 crore has also been kept.
A provision has also been made in the bill to debar the examinees from any public examination for the next two years if any of the students are found guilty, as per the drafted bill.
Apart from this, there is a provision to seize and confiscate the accused's property.
The budget session in the Gujarat Assembly is expected to begin on February 23.
Earlier in January, The Gujarat government had to cancel the competitive exam for the Panchayat Junior Clerk recruitment, hours before it was scheduled to be held, owing to the paper leak.
The accused was identified as Jeet Naik, hailing from Hyderabad.
A total of 15 accused persons have been arrested by the Gujarat ATS so far.
Based on a tip-off, Gujarat Police detained a suspect and recovered a copy of the exam question paper early morning on January 29, the date of the exam. After this, the Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board (GPSSB) decided to postpone the exam.
SP of Gujarat ATS also said last month that they were continuously keeping a watch on people related to previous paper leak incidents.
The new exam date will be announced soon and candidates from across the state will be allowed to travel free upon showing their examination passes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)