Chapter I PRELIMINARY

(1) This Act may be called the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) “candidate” means a person who has been granted permission by the public examination authority to appear in public examination and includes a person authorised to act as a scribe on his behalf in the public examination; (b) “communication device” shall have the same meaning assigned to it in clause (ha) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); (c) “competent authority” shall mean the Ministry or a Department of the Central Government administratively concerned with the public examination authority; (d) “computer network”, “computer resource” and “computer system” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (j), (k) and (l) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); (e) “conduct of public examination” shall include all the procedures, processes and activities, as may be prescribed, for being adopted for the conduct of public examination; (f) “institution” means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, by whatever name it may be called, which is other than the public examination authority and the service provider engaged by such authority. Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, it is clarified that “company” includes a company as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2003); or a limited liability partnership firm as defined in clause (n) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (7 of 2009); (g) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression “notify” shall be construed accordingly; (h) “organised crime” means an unlawful activity committed by a person or a group of persons indulging in unfair means in collusion and conspiracy to pursue or promote a shared interest for wrongful gain in respect of a public examination; (i) “person associated with a service provider” means a person who performs services for or on behalf of such service provider irrespective of whether such person is an employee or an agent or a subsidiary of such service provider, as the case may be; (j) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (k) “public examination” means any examination conducted by the public examination authority, as specified in the Schedule, or conducted by such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government; (l) “public examination authority” means an authority as specified by the Central Government by a notification, from time to time for conducting the public examinations; (m) “public examination centre” means such premises, which is selected by the service provider or otherwise selected by the public examination authority, to be used for conduct of public examination and which, amongst others, may include any school, computer centre, institution, any building or part thereof and the same shall include the entire periphery and land appurtenant thereto which may be used for security and other related reasons for conduct of the public examinations; and (n) “service provider” means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, sub-contractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, which is engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of public examination. (2) Words and expressions used herein but not defined and defined under any other law for the time being in force, shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in those laws.