The JAMMU AND KASHMIR (PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS) EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1987

(PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS
EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1987
(Act No. XX of 1987)
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR (PREVENTION OF
UNFAIRMEANS) EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1987
(Act No. XX of 1987)
CONTENTS
SECTION.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Duties of the supervisory staff.
4. Power of the Competent Authority.
5. Penalties.
6. Offences by companies.
7. Offences to be non-cognizable and non-bailable.
8. Cognizance of offences and procedure for trial.
9. Misconduct by a candidate.
10. Persons engaged in the conduct of examination to be a public servant.
11. Application of other laws not barred.
–––––––
PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 198781
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR (PREVENTION OF
UNFAIRMEANS) EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1987
(Act No. XX of 1987)
[Received the assent of the Governor on 9th December, 1987 and pub-
lished in the Government Gazette dated 4th January, 1988].
An Act to regulate the conduct of examinations and to provide for the
punishment of Unfairmeans used or committed in such examinations.
Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Thirty-
eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows :––
1. Short title, extent and commencement. ––(1) This Act may be called the
Jammu and Kashmir (Prevention of Unfairmeans) Examinations Act, 1987.
(2) It extends to the whole of 
1
[the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir].
2
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by
notification in the 
3
[Government Gazette], appoint.
2. Definitions.–– In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,––
(a) “board” means the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Edu-
cation established under the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School
Education Act, 1975 ;
(b) “candidate” means a person appearing or claiming to appear in an
examination ;
(c) “competent authority” means a University or the Board as the case
may be ;
(d) “conduct of examination” includes supervision of examinations,
preparation or distribution of question papers, coding, evaluation,
processing of examination, results and certification thereof ;
(e) “examination” means any examination held by a University or the
Board ;
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229(E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the State of Jammu and Kashmir”.
2. Enforced by SRO–109 dated 14-03-1991 w.e.f. 15th March, 1991.
3. Now Official Gazette.
82 PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 1987
(f) “examination centre” means the premises specified by the competent
authority as such for holding of any examination ;
1
[(ff) “Government” means the Government of the Union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir ;]
(g) “inspection team” means a team of two or more persons appointed
and authorised by the competent authority to inspect any examination
centre and submit its report to the competent authority about the
conduct of examination of each such examination centre :
Provided that the competent authority may appoint any person to
perform and discharge the functions of the inspection team ;
(h) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Board under the
Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975 ;
(i) “statutes” means the statutes made by a University under this Act
under which the University is established ;
(j) “supervisory staff” means any person appointed by the competent
authority under any law for the supervision and conduct of an
examination and includes such other persons as are appointed by
the competent authority to perform the duties and functions con-
nected with the conduct of an examination ;
(k) “unfairmeans” in relation to an examination means if a candidate––
(i) possesses or keeps accessible in the examination hall any
paper, note, book or material connected with the subject of
the examination in which he is appearing ;
(ii) gives assistance or guidance to or receives it from any other
candidate or communicates or attempts to communicate with
any other candidate or person in or outside the examination
hall in respect of any matter connected with the subject or the
examination in which he is appearing ; or
(iii) copies or has copied in the examination hall from any paper,
book or note or any other material relevant to the subject of
examination in which he is appearing ; or
1. Clause (ff) inserted by S.O. 1229(E) dated 31.03.2020.
PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 198783
(iv) changes his seat with any other candidate or occupies a
vacant seat or the seat of any other candidate not allotted
to him ; or
(v) refuse to obey the orders of the supervisory staff ; or
(vi) misbehaves or commits an act of violence or creates distur-
bance of any kind in and around the examination hall ; or
organises a walkout or instigates others to stage a walkout ; or
(vii) impersonates or misrepresents any other candidate in con-
nection with the examination ; or
(viii) smuggles an answer book, or part thereof or continuation sheet
into the examination hall or takes out or arranges to send out an
answer book or part thereof or a continuation sheet or replaces
the answer book, its inner sheets, or continuation sheets during
or after the examination with or without the connivance of the
supervisory staff ; or
(ix) threatens the supervisory staff on duty in or outside the ex-
amination hall with any injury to his person or to any of his
relations or friends ; whether by words either spoken or writ-
ten or by signs or visible representations or otherwise with a
view to inducing the supervisory staff or any person on duty
in or outside the examination hall to show any concession ; or
(x) discloses his identity or makes a distinctive mark in the answer
book for the purposes of his identification ; or
(xi) appeals to or approaches the supervisory staff by himself or
through any relative, guardian or friend for obtaining any con-
cession in respect of the examination in which he is appearing
or has appeared or makes an appeal to the supervisory staff in
his answer book ; or
(xii) uses abusive or obscene or indecent language in the answer
book ; or
(xiii) obtains or attempts to obtain admission to an examination of
false representation made on his admission form or forges
another person’s signatures on his admission form ; or
84 PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 1987
(xiv) during the course of examination, writes either on blotting
paper, or any other piece of paper a question set in the paper,
or any thing connected with or relating to a question set in
the paper or solution thereof ; or
(xv) possesses a solution to a question set in the paper through
the connivance of any member of the supervisory or menial
staff or an outside agency ; or
(xvi) leaves the examination hall without delivering the answer book
and takes it away with him or intentionally tears off the answer
book or any part thereof or continuation sheet or part thereof
inside or outside the examination hall ; or
(xvii) approaches or attempts to influence directly or indirectly, re-
garding his unfairmeans misconduct case to a member of the
committee for scrutiny of misconduct/unfairmeans cases ; or
(xviii) forces his entry into a hall for the purpose of taking the exami-
nation even after being told that he is not eligible to sit for the
examination ; or
(xix) possesses any lethal weapons or firearm or comes in drunken
condition to the examination hall ; or
(xx) engages in any other act or omission which has the tendency
to disrupt the orderly conduct of the examination ;
(l) “University”means a university established under any Act passed
by 
1
[the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and
Kashmir].
3. Duties of the supervisory staff.–– The supervisory staff shall––
(a) be bound responsible to act and to perform their duties in accor-
dance with and as required by or under the statutes or the regula-
tions, as the case may be ;
(b) not to allow, connive at or facilitate the commission of any
unfairmeans by any candidate ;
(c) not to allow any person other than the members of the inspection
team, to enter or loiter in or around the examination centre.
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229(E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the State Legislature”.
PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 198785
4. Power of the Competent Authority.–– The Competent Authority may
appoint any eligible teacher or other official of the University or Board or the
Education Department, as the case may be, as a member of the supervisory staff
and it shall be obligatory on such person to accept the assignment.
5. Penalties. ––(1) If any person contravenes, or attempts to contravene
or abets the contravention of, any of the provisions of this Act, he shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extent to two years or with fine
which may extend to rupees two thousand or with both.
(2) If any person being under an obligation to perform any duty in connec-
tion with the conduct of an examination fails to perform such duty or commits
any dereliction of duty, he shall be guilty of offence under sub-section (1) and
shall be punished accordingly.
(3) If any person obstructs or threatens any member of the inspection
team, supervisory staff or any authority, officer or person appointed by the
competent authority from performing lawful duty or from entering any centre in
the exercise of any power conferred on him/her by or under this Act, he shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with
fine which may extend to rupees two thousand or with both.
Exception : — The provisions of this section shall not apply to a candidate.
6. Offences by companies.–– Where an offence under section 5 of this Act
is committed by a company engaged in the conduct of examination, every per-
son who at the time the offence was committed was incharge of and was respon-
sible to the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as
the company, shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.
Explanation :–– For the purpose of this section, “Company” means any body
corporate and includes a firm or other association of the indi-
viduals.
7. Offences to be non-cognizable and non-bailable.–– Notwithstanding
anything contained in 
1
[the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)], all
offences under this Act shall be non-cognizable and non-bailable.
8. Cognizance of offences and procedure for trial.–– Notwithstanding
anything contained in 
1
[the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)] :––
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229(E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Code of Criminal Procedure,
Samvat 1989”.
86 PREVENTION OF UNFAIRMEANS EXAMINA TIONS ACT, 1987
(i) all offences under this Act shall be triable by a Judicial Magistrate of
Ist Class empowered by the Government in this behalf ;
(ii) no Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except
on a complaint lodged by the competent authority or an officer
authorised by the competent authority ;
(iii) all offences under this Act shall be triable in accordance with the
procedure laid down under section 259-A of 
1
[the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)].
9. Misconduct by a candidate.–– If any candidate commits misconduct or
uses unfairmeans he shall be liable to disciplinary action under the Statutes or
the Regulations, as the case may be.
10. Persons engaged in the conduct of examination to be a public ser-
vant.–– Every person engaged in the conduct of the examination shall be deemed
to be public servant within the meaning of  
2
[ section 21 of the Indian Penal Code
(45 of 1860)].
11. Application of other laws not barred.–– The provisions of this Act
shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law in force on the
subject.
–––––––
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229(E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Code of Criminal Procedure,
Samvat 1989”.
2. Substituted ibid for “section 21 of the Ranbir Penal Code”.

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