Shimla — The Himachal Pradesh government has enforced one of the strictest laws in the country to curb paper leaks and organized cheating in recruitment examinations. The Prevention of Unfair Means in Public Examinations Act, 2025, has officially come into force following approval from Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla. A notification regarding this was issued by the Law Department in the state gazette on Friday.
The Act, already passed in the Legislative Assembly, makes cheating in government recruitment exams a non-bailable and cognizable offence. Individuals involved in using or facilitating unfair means will now face a minimum of five and a maximum of ten years of imprisonment, along with a fine of ₹1 crore.
The law also lays down strict punishment for service providers engaged in conducting recruitment exams. If any service provider is found involved in malpractice, it may face a fine of up to ₹1 crore, and the full cost of conducting the examination will be recovered from it. Additionally, such agencies will be barred from handling exam-related work for the next four years. Directors, managers, or employees of the firm found guilty may face imprisonment ranging from three to ten years.
Cases registered under this Act will be investigated by officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and above. The government can also entrust any specialised investigating agency with such cases if required.
The new law follows multiple incidents of paper leaks in the state over recent years, which had significantly damaged public confidence in the recruitment system. The most high-profile case was the one involving the Hamirpur Staff Selection Commission, which was dissolved after widespread irregularities came to light. The commission has since been reconstituted.
Himachal Pradesh has witnessed several exam leak scandals in the past decade, affecting major recruitment processes. The most notable was the junior office assistant (JOA-IT) paper leak linked to the Hamirpur Staff Selection Commission, where an organized network allegedly sold question papers to candidates. Multiple arrests were made, exposing deep-rooted corruption. Similar leaks were also reported in police recruitment exams, triggering statewide criticism and demands for reform. These repeated incidents ultimately pushed the government to bring in a stringent law to secure the integrity of public examinations.
