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UP Govt to challenge order
against Anti-copying Act

The Uttar Pradesh Government will challenge a recent Allahabad High Court Lucknow bench order that stayed provisions of the Anti-copying Act, which had made use of unfair means in examinations a cognisable offence.

"We have taken the law department's concurrence and we will seek a review of the order that imposes restrictions on lodging a first information report against an errant examinee without whetting by a departmental committee," education secretary Satish Kumar Agarwal told rediff.com.

The court order came in response to a writ petition filed last November, following which Lucknow University decided to stay operation of the Act, that had kicked up a major controversy over the years.

The government also rescinded a Lucknow University order on referring all such matters to its committee and not registering cases under provisions of the Act.

"The university had obviously misinterpreted the honourable court's order which did not issue any blanket stay against the Act as such," Agarwal pointed out.

He said, "The government was quite firm on continuing against the use of unfair means in examinations," while asserting that "in case we did not get the desired relief in the review petition before the high court, we will move the apex court."

The Act was mooted by UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh in 1991, when he was education minister. However, it was revoked by the Bharatiya Janata Party's arch rival, Mulayam Singh Yadav, when he came to power in an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party in 1994-95.

But just as the BJP staged a comeback three years back, the Act was re-introduced with a minor alteration -- making the offence bailable. Under the original provisions, copying had not only been made cognisable but also a non-bailable offence, which drew flak from various quarters.

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