Sidhima Choudhary, Pune
Arunachal Pradesh state assembly enacted a new law targeting malpractice by the candidates in the recruitment examinations of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), leading to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.
The law came into action two years after the APPSC paper leak in 2022. In 2022, the state displayed a public outrage where the paper for the APPSC, engineering exam leaked. The paper leak cast a shadow on Pema Khandu, the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and its government.
The recent law of the state assembly states that if a candidate is found convicted of any sort of malpractice in the recruitment examinations of APPSC, the convict will have imprisonment of five years with a Rs 1 crore fine.
Whereas, the service providers involved in such malpractice will be liable to a fine up to Rs. 10 crore. They would also have to provide a proportionate cost for conducting the examination again, as a form of compensation.
During the assembly, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh reflected on the scandal indicating regret for the damage that was caused during the paper leak. Khandu described the leak as ‘a serious criminal act,’ and assured to act on it effectively.
Around 50 government employees were arrested during the APPSC 2022 paper leak whereas many government and APPSC staff were suspended from their jobs. It also showcased a bad view of the government facing adverse reactions from the public.
Pera Khandu addressed how the government faced a serious backlash where people lost trust in the government. He said, “The legislation debars convicted candidates from appearing in any recruitment examinations for a lifetime in the state.” For a fast trial in such offenses, there is also a provision of a Special Court and an option of setting up a Grievance and Redressal Cell.
The state assembly also passed the Amending Bill 2024 of Arunachal Pradesh where the amendment was necessitated for the enactment of three new criminal laws by the state government. The criminal laws, Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act are replaced with the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.