The university has debarred the faculty member from all examination-related work for seven years, while Shivalik College of Engineering has terminated his services for what it termed a grave breach of professional ethics.
BY PC Bureau
July 23: Even as the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak continues to trigger nationwide protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, a fresh examination leak controversy has surfaced in Uttarakhand. Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) has cancelled two semester examinations after an external examiner allegedly circulated questions to students before the tests.
The cancelled examinations—Machine Learning for Internet of Things and Electromagnetic Field Theory—were conducted across 12 affiliated engineering colleges. The university has announced that both papers will be re-conducted in the third week of August.
Leak Allegedly Through WhatsApp and Internal Portal
The controversy surfaced after the university received a complaint about the Machine Learning for Internet of Things examination. A fact-finding inquiry by the university and the concerned college allegedly found that the external paper setter had shared questions matching those in the final examination through the institution’s internal academic portal and a WhatsApp group before the test.
The investigation later revealed similar irregularities in the Electromagnetic Field Theory paper, which had also been prepared by the same faculty member.
Following the inquiry, Controller of Examinations Dr. V.K. Patel cancelled both examinations and directed all affiliated institutions to immediately inform students about the revised examination schedule.
Strict Action Against Faculty Member
Taking a tough stand, the university has barred the paper setter from all examination-related responsibilities for seven years.
The faculty member, employed as an Assistant Professor at Shivalik College of Engineering, has also been dismissed from service.
College Director Dr. T.S. Sidhu said the professor allegedly shared nearly 50 questions with students through a WhatsApp group before the examination, many of which later appeared in the question paper.
According to the college, the disciplinary process began after a complaint was received on July 8. An inquiry committee was constituted on July 10, submitted its findings on July 13, and the professor was initially debarred from paper-setting duties on July 14.
After the university concluded on July 22 that the faculty member was responsible for the leak, the college terminated his services with immediate effect, describing the incident as a “serious breach of professional ethics and institutional trust.”
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University Pulls Up College
Apart from acting against the professor, the university has also issued a formal warning to Shivalik College of Engineering for failing to maintain adequate oversight over examination-related processes.
The institution has been directed to strengthen its internal monitoring systems and ensure stricter safeguards to prevent similar incidents in future.
Another Blow to Examination Credibility
The latest episode has once again raised concerns about the vulnerability of India’s examination system to leaks and malpractice.
The controversy comes at a time when students across the country are protesting over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, particularly the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The demonstrations have reignited the debate over examination security, accountability and the need for systemic reforms.
For Uttarakhand, the incident is another setback after a series of paper leak controversies in recent years that forced the cancellation of recruitment examinations and prompted the state government to enact stringent anti-copying and anti-paper leak laws.
University officials said cancelling the two examinations was an unavoidable step to protect the sanctity of the evaluation process and ensure that no student gained an unfair advantage through leaked question papers.
