THE ANDHRA PRADESH PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF
MALPRACTICES AND UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 1997
ACT No. 25 OF 1997 [21st August, 1997]
AN ACT TO PREVENT MALPRACTICES AND UNFAIR MEANS AT OR
RELATING TO PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS AND FOR MATTERS
CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO
Whereas, the laws in force in the State of Andhra Pradesh relating to
the educational system are found to be inadequate to control or eradicate
effectively organised malpractices in relation to public examinations on the
part of the persons with vested interests operating individually or collectively
by unlawful means for unlawful considerations;
And whereas, the vast majority of meritorious examinees are adversely
affected by such unlawful activity which is disrupting the examination
system;
1[And whereas, it is also necessary to curb false and misleading
advertisements and other modes of publicity intended to induce students to
seek admission into various educational institutions or tutorial institutions;]
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Andhra
Pradesh in the Forty-eighth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement –
(1) This Act may be called the
Andhra Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices and Unfair
means) Act, 1997.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh.
(3) Section 12 shall come into force with immediate effect and the
remaining sections shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from
28th April, 1997.
2. Definitions – In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a)“Examination Centre” means any institution or part thereof or
any other place fixed for the holding of a public examination and
includes the entire premises attached thereto;
(b)“Government” means the State Government of Andhra
Pradesh;
(c)“Notification” means a notification published in the Andhra
Pradesh Gazette and the word ‘notified’ shall be construed
accordingly;
(d)“Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the
Government under this Act;
(e)“Public Examination” means any examination either qualifying
or competitive conducted by the Government or any other
authority or body or any university under any law for the time
being inforce for awarding or granting any degree, diploma,
certificate or any other academic distinction or for qualifying for
admission into any course of study or for selecting for appointment
or regularisation or promotion to any post in public service and
includes any other examination declared by the Government by
notification to be a public examination
Explanation: For the purposes of this clause, the expression,
‘Public Service’ means services in any office or establishments of,-
(a) the Government;
(b) a local authority;
(c) a Corporation or undertaking wholly owned or controlled
by the State Government;
(d) a body established under any law made by the Legislature
of the State whether incorporated or not, including a
University;
(e) any other body established by the State Government or by
a society registered under any law relating to the
registration of societies for the time being in force, and
receiving funds from the State Government either fully or
partly for its maintenance or any educational institution
whether registered or not but receiving aid from the
Government;
(f) “Unfair means” in relation to an examinee appearing in a
public examination means the unauthorised help from
any person in any manner or from any material written,
recorded, printed or reproduced in any form whatsoever or
the unauthorised use of any telephonic, wireless or
electronic or other instrument or gadget in any manner;
and
(g) all words and expressions used but not defined in this Act
shall have meanings assigned to them in the Andhra
Pradesh Education Act, 1982 (Act 1 of 1982), or as the
case may be, in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Central Act
45 of 1860).
3. Prohibition of the use of unfair means – The use of unfair means at or
in connection with any public examination by any person is hereby
prohibited.
4. Unauthorised possession and disclosure of question paper – No person
who is not lawfully authorised or permitted by virtue of his duties so to do
shall, before the time fixed for the examinees to leave an examination centre
at a public examination,-
(a)procure or attempt to procure or possess, such question paper
or any portion or a copy thereof; or
(b)impart, or offer to impart information which he knows or has
reason to believe, to be related to, or derived from, or to have a
bearing upon such question paper
5. Prevention of leakage by person entrusted with examination work –
No person who is entrusted with any work pertaining to a public
examination shall, except where he is permitted by virtue of his duties so to
do, directly or indirectly divulge or cause to be divulged or make known to
any other person any information or part thereof which has come to his
knowledge by virtue of the work being so entrusted to him.
6. Prevention of manipulation of evaluation or record of such
evaluation – No person shall directly or indirectly indulge or involve in any
manipulation or attempted manipulation of the evaluation of the
performance of an examinee at a public examination or the record of such
evaluation.
Explanation:- For the purposes of this section, the expression ‘record of
evaluation’ includes answer scripts, tabulation sheets, marks registers,
individual mark sheets, result sheets, or the copies thereof or any other
registers or records maintained in this behalf
7. Prevention of inducement for admission – No person connected with an
educational institution or a tutorial institution shall offer or promise any
guarantee of performance or success at a public examination in advance as
an inducement for admission into such educational institution or tutorial
institution.
1[7A. Prevention of publication of false or misleading information – No
person connected with an educational institution or a tutorial institution
shall publish false or misleading information relating to the success of its
students in a public examination.
Explanation:- For the purposes of this section, an advertisement or other
mode of publicity:-
(i) claiming that any student belongs to a particular educational or
tutorial institution to which such student was never admitted; or
(ii) showing against a candidate any rank other than the rank
assigned to him/her by the Convenor of a public examination while
declaring the results of such examination, shall be construed as false or
misleading information.
8. Penalty – Whoever contravenes or attempts or conspires to contravene or
abets the contravention of the provisions of section 3 or section 4 or section 5 or section 6 or section 7 1[or section 7A] shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which
may extend upto seven years and with fine which shall not be less than
rupees five thousand, but which may extend upto rupees one lakh
9.Penalty for offence with preparation to cause hurt etc., – Whoever
commits an offence punishable under section 8 having made preparation for
causing death of any person or causing hurt to any person or assaulting any
person or wrongfully restraining any person or for putting any person in fear
of death or hurt or assault or wrongful restraint shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which
may extend upto ten years and with fine which shall not be less than rupees
ten thousand but which may extend upto rupees one lakh.
10. Punishment for neglect of duties – Whoever being entrusted with any
work or has to perform any duty pertaining to a public examination wilfully
neglects such work or duty required to be performed by him shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six
months but which may extend upto three years and with fine which shall
not be less than rupees five thousand, but which may extend upto rupees
one lakh
11. Offences by companies – (1) Where an offence against any of the
provisions of this Act or any rule made thereunder has been committed by a
company, every person, who at the time the offence was committed was incharge of, and was responsible to the company for the conduct of business
of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the
offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any
such person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence was
committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence
to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1) where any such
offence has been committed, by a company and it is proved that the offence
has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to
any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of
the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be
deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.
12. Forfeiture of property of certain persons – (1) where a person has
been convicted of any offence under this Act, the Court may, in addition to
awarding any punishment, by order in writing, declare that any property
movable or immovable or both belonging to the person, which has been or
appears to have been or believed to have been used for or involved in or
procured or acquired or obtained by the commission of that offence, shall
stand forfeited to the Government
(2) Where any person is accused of any offence under this Act, it shall
be open to the Court having jurisdiction to try the case to pass an order that
all or any of the properties, movable or immovable or both, belonging to the
person, shall, during the period of and until the conclusion of such trial, be
attached, and where such trial ends in conviction, the properties so
attached shall be liable to forfeiture to the Government to the extent it is
required for compensating the Government of the expenditure incurred for
conducting the public examination again, in respect of which the offence has
been committed, cancelling such public examination conducted earlier due
to such offence and for the purpose of realisation of any fine imposed under
this Act
13. Power to give directions – The Government or any officer or authority
specifically empowered by the Government by order in this behalf may give
directions to any educational institution or tutorial institution or any officer,
or other person to give effect to any of the provisions of this Act or any rule
or order made thereunder and such directions shall be complied with.
14. Protection of action taken in good faith – No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government or any officer or
authority of Government or any other person for anything which is in good
faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules or orders made
thereunder.
15. Act to override other laws – The provisions of this Act shall have effect
notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law
for the time being in force
16 Power to make rules – (1) The Government may by notification, make
rules for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall immediately after it is made,
be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State, if it is in session and if it
is not in session in the session immediately following for a total period of
fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive
sessions, and if, before the expiration of the session in which it is so laid or
the session immediately following the Legislative Assembly agrees in making
any modification in the rule or in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall, from the date on which the modification or annulment is notified, have effect
only in such modified form or shall stand annulled as the case may be so,
however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule
17. Repeal of Ordinance 7 of 1997 – The Andhra Pradesh Public
Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices and Unfair means) Ordinance,
1997 is hereby repealed.
