Copying and cheating in examinations is like the plague which can ruin society and the education system, and those using unfair means have to be dealt with a heavy hand, the Delhi High Court has said.

Observing that the integrity of the education system has to be infallible for any country's progress, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said students who resort to unfair means and get away with it cannot build the nation.