(1) This Act may be called the Odisha Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
CHAPTER II DEFINITIONS Definitions. 2. (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 authorized to act as THE ODISHA PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 2024 EXTRAORDINARY PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No.394 , CUTTACK, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 / MAGHA 23, 1946 LAW DEPARTMENT NOTIFICATION The 12th February, 2025 No.2318-I-Legis-22/2024/L - The following Act of the Odisha Legislative Assembly having been assented to by the Governor on the 3rd day of February, 2025 is hereby publish for general information.
ODISHA ACT 1 OF 2025 2 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;
(c) “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;
(d) “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;
(e) “Institution” means any agency, organization, 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; 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;
(f) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression “notify” shall be construed accordingly;
(g) “Organized 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;
(h) “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;
(i) “Paper setter” means any person or entity appointed by the public examination authority for preparation of questions or question bank or question paper;
(j) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
21 of 2000.
21 of 2000.
18 of 2013.
7 of 2009.
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(k) “Public examination” means any examination conducted by the public examination authority, or conducted by such other authority as may be notified by the State Government;
(l) “Public examination authority” means the Odisha Public Service Commission, Odisha Staff Selection Commission, Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission, Service Selection Board, Odisha Police Selection Board, State Selection Board constituted under the Odisha Education (Selection Board for the State)Rules,1992, Odisha Joint Entrance Examination, regulated by the Odisha Professional Educational Institution (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007, Departments of the State Government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff, Selection Agencies / Committees engaged or constituted by the State Government, and all such other authority as may be notified by the State Government from time to time, for conducting public examination or any Examination Authority as specified in Schedule;
(m) “Public examination center” 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 center, 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;
(n) “Service provider” means any agency, organization, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, subcontractors 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;
(o) “Schedule” means schedule appended to this Act.
(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.
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CHAPTER III UNFAIR MEANS AND OFFENCES Unfair means. 3. The unfair means relating to the conduct of a public examination shall include any act or omission done or caused to be done by any person or group of persons or institutions, and include but not be restricted to, any of the following acts for monetary or wrongful gain—
(a) leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof ;
(b) participating in collusion with others to effect leakage of question paper or answer key ;
(c) accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition response sheet without authority ;
(d) providing solution to one or more questions by any unauthorized person during a public examination ;
(e) directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorizedly in the public examination ;
(f) tampering with answer sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets ;
(g) altering the assessment except to correct a bona fide error without any authority ;
(h) willful violation of norms or standards set up by the State Government for conduct of a public examination on its own or through its agency ;
(i) tampering with any document necessary for shortlisting of candidates or finalising the merit or rank of a candidate in a public examination ;
(j) deliberate violation of security measures to facilitate unfair means in conduct of a public examination ;
(k) tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system ;
(l) manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations ;
(m) threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination 5 Conspiracy for unfair means.
Disruption to conduct public examination.
Duties of Paper Setter.
authority or the service provider or any authorized agency of the Government; or obstructing the conduct of a public examination ;
(n) creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain;
and
(o) conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain.
4. No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or conspire to facilitate indulgence in any such unfair means.