Paper leaks in Bharat
1997 paper leak
In the evenings of 2 and 3 May 1997 "special class” featured “shorthand” versions of seven out of 17 questions from the Maths paper scheduled for 4 May.
The exam was cancelled
CBI began investigating the case.
A probe revealed an alleged nexus between the printing press and a Lucknow-based coaching centre — Trivaag Coaching Centre.
Nearly three decades since it came to light, the trial — in a lower court in Uttar Pradesh — is still at the witness examination stage.
Accused were charged under the Official Secrets Act, along with sections of the IPC.
2013 Vyapam scam - Madhya Pradesh
Those arrested include former MP education minister Lakshmikant Sharma, and Vyapam controller of exams Pankaj Trivedi. Sharma was later given a clean chit by the CBI in 2019.
NEET
alleged paper leaks in NEET 2024, affecting nearly 23.33 lakh aspirants competing for 1,08,915 MBBS seats
NEET 2021, affecting 16.14 lakh aspirants
2021 IIT JEE paper leak
CBI booked Russian hacker and a Kanpur-based private firm, Affinity Education Pvt Ltd and its three directors
The firm charged each of the candidates around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
For the first time, foreign involvement was found in such a case.
the CBI informed the court that 800-plus candidates benefited from Russian national Mikhail Shargin’s hacking of the iLeon software platform.
Rajasthan
In the past 5 years, there have been 7 paper leaks.
In two of Rajasthan’s major paper leaks in the last five years, the questions were leaked from the exam centres a few hours before the test, allegedly thanks to an understanding between officials and the syndicates.
the 2021 Rajasthan sub-inspector and platoon commanders recruitment paper leak case, affected 8 lakh aspirants, in which the chargesheet was filed last month, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police details how a gang run by history-sheeter Jagdish Bishnoi allegedly compromised the ‘strongroom’ in coordination with the centre’s superintendent
Has a law that provides for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for a person found guilty of involvement in a paper leak.
Telangana
the question papers of the 2023 recruitment examinations for executive engineers and divisional accounts officers conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission were leaked by the TSPSC secretary’s personal assistant.
Jharkhand
Mohammad Shamim, an undersecretary working at the Jharkhand assembly, was arrested in February in the 2023 Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) paper leak case
Paper leak in Bihar
In the past 5 years, there have been 6 paper leaks
more than 5 lakh candidates were affected after a teacher recruitment examination was cancelled in 2024
equal number of candidates were left in the lurch after syndicates got hold of the papers of the 2022 senior grade teacher
the 2021 sub-inspector and platoon commander recruitment exams.
Gujarat
In the past 5 years, there have been 4 paper leaks along with Madhya Pradesh
Gujarat Police found that a Vadodara coaching centre-cum-consultancy service provider was at the heart of the paper leak in which 17 NEET aspirants were allegedly aided by the exam centre’s superintendent and teachers deployed on invigilation duty.
Each student allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh.
Involvement of logistics service provider
Bihar Public Service Commission’s (BPSC) Teacher Recruitment Examination
gang allegedly run by ‘kingpin’ Shiv Kumar
question papers were to be transported by the DTDC, hired vehicles from Shrinivas Chowdhary, a vendor who booked vehicles from Zenith Logistics Private Ltd.
Shiv Kumar’s gang lured Zenith’s accountant Rahul Paswan and that he was used to rope in Chowdhary.
the truck driver parked the vehicle carrying the question papers outside a roadside restaurant in Nagarnausa, Nalanda district, than Shiv Kumar’s gang members allegedly opened the box inside with a specialised tool and scanned the question papers.
This happened 12 March, three days before the exam. The ‘clients’ were made to memorise the question papers at a banquet hall in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, the investigation found.
Bihar Constables recruitment, 2023
recruitment of constables in the Bihar Police, conducted by the Central Selection Board of Constables, was scheduled on 1, 7 and 15 October last year.
However, the exam was cancelled after answer keys went viral on social media hours before the test.
DP World was given the contract for transporting question papers, which was outsourced to Zenith Logistics for transportation of questions to all districts and centres in Bihar
Economic Offences Unit (EOU) trucks containing question papers for constable recruitment exams were parked for six hours in Patna, and question papers were leaked as in the BPSC teacher’s exam.
UP Police constable recruitment exam, 2024
employees of TCI Express — the company responsible for transporting exam papers — were allegedly involved as part of a module.
affected 46 lakh aspirants
System in place for curtailing these instances
The trucks have to be tracked through GPS, and
there are heavy zipper locks with either a QR code or an inscribed code so that they cannot be meddled with or replaced.
These locks can only be cut on reaching the destination on the designated date.
The GPS tag will alert the authorities if there is any rerouting.
Moreover, the boxes are to be sealed in tamper proof material.
Generally, only an SDM-rank officer can receive the courier and it is directly sent to the strongroom”
Issues
the breaching starts more often in the process of selection and allotment of centres and the printing press.
in the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection (GSSSB) exam of 2021 the leaks took place from the printing press itself
The police filed a 14,000-page chargesheet naming the Surya Offset Printing Press supervisor as the key accused in the GSSSB paper leak
the Uttar Pradesh Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (Preliminary) exam 2024, the leaks took place from the printing press itself
The Uttar Pradesh government blacklisted Edutest — the company responsible for printing the exam papers — after the UP Police constable recruitment leak case this year.
The UP STF had summoned the firm’s owner, Vineet Arya, but he fled to the US.
Fundamental problems behind paper leaks
academic options that can provide new-age skills and make youth employable in new industries, such as digital marketing and hospitality, have not yet opened up.
unprecedented demand especially for MBBS seats at government colleges.
increasing number of NEET applicants reflects the limited options available to biology students compared to engineering students, who have sufficient affordable college choices.
the lack of affordable private medical education in the country, which forces students to keep repeating NEET examinations,
There is a 30 percent repetition of candidates every season of NEET because 95 percent of parents cannot afford medical education in private colleges. You can complete MBBS in government colleges at 5 lakhs while fees at private colleges can extend up to Rs 1 crore
state governments looking to increase the number of medical colleges, government or private, in their states — like Tamil Nadu had tried last year — should be allowed to do so
Very few vacancy available for these posts
Print - Paper leak series Part 1 Print - Part 2 Print - Part 3
Paper leak prevention in Uttar Pradesh
- no private institutions should be designated as examination centres, only government and government-aided schools should be selected, with the selection process conducted under the supervision of the district magistrate and the district school inspector.
- the police recruitment examination has set a new standard and should be used as a model for other recruitment boards
- special care must be taken in selecting transportation services, agencies, and examination centres, with strict confidentiality maintained throughout the process.
- CM also instructed that the selection boards and commissions establish formal agreements (MoUs) with authorised agencies to ensure transparency.
- The chairpersons of all boards and commissions should convene meetings with the chief secretary and the director general of police to ensure the smooth conduct of examinations.
- Artificial Intelligence and CCTV should be used to maintain order and prevent any disruptions.
- special attention must be given to controlling the spread of rumours.
- all boards and commissions to create question banks, this step is essential for maintaining the integrity of the examinations.
- Recruitment in the medical and technical departments should be expedited by forming boards at the local level and reservation policies should be strictly followed,
- punishment such as life imprisonment, but making it more stringent by making offences cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable, and triable by sessions courts.
March 2025
Paper leak in Assam
- Assam — All Class 11 state board exams cancelled after paper leak, confirms via Assam Educational Minister
