Raj to bring Bill provisioning life imprisonment for recruitment paper leak

The Rajasthan government will bring a Bill in the next assembly session to increase the punishment for those involved in recruitment exam paper leaks from the current 10 years to life imprisonment, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Tuesday.

In March 2022, the assembly passed a Bill providing for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 10 crore for offences such as government exam paper leaks and cheating in such recruitment tests. This came a month after the REET level-two examination held in September 2021 was cancelled due to a paper leak.

"It has been decided to bring a Bill in the upcoming assembly session to make life imprisonment the maximum punishment under the law against paper leaks," Gehlot said in a tweet in Hindi on Tuesday.

"In order to bring more transparency in competitive examinations in the state, the chief secretary has been directed to prepare a better process after discussing with the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC), Department of Personnel (DOP), Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (RSSB) and other stakeholders," he added.

Opposition parties in Rajasthan have been targeting the Congress government over the issue of paper leaks. Assembly elections in the state are due later this year.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also announced that a Bill to curb cheating in recruitment examinations would be brought as well.

The opposition BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the REET paper leak case, which at present is being investigated by the Special Operation Group of the Rajasthan Police.