Bhubaneswar: A local court in Cuttack Saturday rejected the bail application of the accused arrested in connection with the Special Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) 2025 paper leak, observing that such offences severely undermine public faith in government-conducted examinations and recruitment procedures.
The act of the accused persons damaged the future of deserving candidates and demoralised lakhs of genuine aspirants, the 3rd Additional District and Sessions Judge of Cuttack said, adding, “Such manipulation in teacher eligibility tests corrodes the education system and has a long-term negative implication on the quality of education and nation building.”
In the present society, the problem of unemployment is a headache for youths. Without any job, youths are compelled to choose cultivation and small business for their livelihood, it said.
“If they (youths) will be victims of these types of unscrupulous people (accused petitioners), then they will certainly lose faith in the system and will be mentally harassed,” the court said.
“Such offences severely undermine public faith in government-conducted examinations and recruitment procedures, creating widespread disappointment and loss of institutional credibility,” the court observed while rejecting the bail application.
Notably, a handwritten question paper with answers, reportedly an exact replica of the official sets of Special OTET 2025 prepared by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), surfaced on Facebook and quickly spread across social media July 19.
It led to the postponement of the test, which was scheduled for July 20.
The BSE initially announced that the test would be conducted August 31 this year.
However, it was later deferred due to what officials say are ‘unavoidable circumstances’.
The BSE has not shared the new date yet, but assured that it will be announced shortly.
The paper leak led to an investigation by the Crime Branch of Odisha Police. So far, eight people, including the vice president of the BSE and school teachers, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
PNN
