Paper leaks: Dealing with paper leaks: Importance of strict laws | Chandigarh News

Chandigarh: During the conviction of former Registrar (Recruitment) of Punjab and Haryana High Court Balwinder Kumar Sharma and two others in connection with the leak of Haryana Civil Services (Judiciary) Examination 2017, the trial was held Court in Delhi Paper leaks create an atmosphere of unrest, stress and fear among students and must be strictly combated Laws.
The court also praised the newly announced Public Examination Act (prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 and described it as a welcome step in this direction, but added that preventive measures must be taken against such abuses by introducing long-term reforms.
The court also noted that crime is now being perpetrated by organised gangs of actors from across the education sector, those involved in the formulation of examination questions, tutoring centres, consultants, contracted agencies and printing houses. “In a country where unemployment remains a constant problem, the threat of paper leakages is causing delays in recruitment, negatively affecting the efficiency of ministries and administrative bodies already struggling with the problem of staff shortages… In order to restore confidence in the examination process, the problem of paper leakages must be addressed through the effective implementation of specific, stringent laws,” the court ruled.
These observations were made by Anju Bajaj Chandna, Principal District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge (PC Act) of the Rouse Avenue District Court in New Delhi, in her 213-page judgment convicting three persons in the 2017 paper leak.
Rejects Sharma's
Charges against former judge
The court rejected the allegations made by Balwinder Sharma that Justice AK Mittal, a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was involved in the paper leak scam, and observed that the original exam questions were under his (Balwinder's) control.
“The judges of the Supreme Court are provided with a sufficient number of assistants to assist them in the discharge of their official duties. The Chairman and Registrar (Recruitment) of the Recruitment Committee was Justice AK Mittal… It is difficult to believe that the Chairman of the Committee personally kept the confidential documents, including the examination paper. The defence raised by Balwinder Kumar Sharma that the examination paper was with the Chairman of the Recruitment Committee is only an afterthought,” the court observed.
The court also observed that these objections were never raised at the time of the investigation before the Registrar (Supervision). The trial court also dismissed Balwinder's appeal in which he had alleged that Arun Kumar Tyagi, the then Registrar (Supervision), had not conducted a fair investigation and had created false evidence.