HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Court No. - 46
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 18498 of 2011
Petitioner :- Sachin Rana And Anr.
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And Others
Petitioner Counsel :- Ram Raj Pandey
Respondent Counsel :- Govt. Advocate
Connected with
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION NO. 18572 of 2011
Petitioner: Nirbhay Singh
Respondent: State of UP and others
Petitioner Counsel : Rajeev Chaddha
Respondent Counsel: Govt Advocate
Hon'ble Amar Saran,J.
Hon'ble Kalimullah Khan,J.
Heard Shri D.R. Chaudhary, learned Government Advocate assisted by Shri Vimlendu Tripathi, learned Additional Government Advocate.
This order will apply to all the connected writ petitions. However, the present Writ petition No. 18498/2011 (District Baghpat) preferred by Sachin Rana and others and Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 18572 of 2011, (District Ghaziabad) preferred by Nirbhay Singh shall be treated as the leading petitions.
Pursuant to our earlier order dated 11.10.2011, affidavits of compliance dated 14.11.2011 have been filed on behalf of the Director General of Police , Headquarters, UP, Lucknow and on behalf of SHO Baraut, district Baghpat and affidavit dated 15.11.2011 filed on behalf of the State of UP and SHO, PS Hapur Nagar, district Ghaziabad in the two leading petitions.
Two investigating officers from the two districts, Baghpat (P.S. Baraut) and Ghazaibad (P.S. Hapur Nagar) are present. The Director, Basic Education, U.P. is also present in Court pursuant to the earlier order.
The affidavit of the Director General of Police, UP shows that a letter dated 2.11.2011 has been issued by the DGP directing the Inspector General of Police, Meerut Region, Meerut to ensure that strict and fair investigation be carried out in pursuance of the order of this Court dated 11.10.2011. Consequently, letters have been issued by the Inspector General of Police, Meerut Region, Meerut dated 2/3.11.2011 to the SP, Baghpat and the SP, Panchsheel Nagar for strict and fair investigation in the matter. The Director General, Public Grievance has also written a letter to the SSP, Ghaziabad to the same effect.
The affidavit of the Investigating officer, PS Baraut (Baghpat) shows that as per the list supplied by the Principal, DIET,forged certificates/ mark sheets of 18 candidates whose certificates were purportedly issued by the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal and 59 candidates, whose certificates were purportedly issued by the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, i.e a total of 77 mark sheets have been found to be forged. The affidavit of SI of PS Hapur Nagar, district Ghaziabad shows that 49 cases have been registered at police station Hapur Nagar, district Ghaziabad, now district Panchsheel Nagar. Out of these 49 cases, 37 cases relate to forged and fabricated mark sheets issued by the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal, whereas 12 cases pertain to forged and fabricated mark sheets issued by the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. This affidavit further mentions that theCBCID is investigating the case against the employees of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, namely Mihir Mishra, posted as Satyapan Sahayak and Vijay Shankar Shukla, Assistant Sub-Registrar (Examination) at case crime No. 69 of 2011, under sections 467, 468 and 471 IPC, PS Chetganj, district Varanasi for issuing fabricated and fake mark sheets. Investigation has been completed or is nearing completion in most of the cases and the charge sheets are ready.
We think that the magnitude of this problem as seen in the 49 cases relating to district Ghaziabad and 77 cases relating to district Baghpat (i.e. a total of 126 cases) suggests that the problem of getting admissions to BTC courses on the basis of forged and fabricated mark sheets has assumed the nature of a scam.
It has begun to appear to this Court that now it is becoming a rarity for candidates try to get admissions to BTC courses in a bona fide manner on the basis of genuine mark sheets, and that trying to get admission to BTC courses on the basis of forged and fabricated mark sheets seems to be looked upon as a very normal and legitimate activity. For this purpose thecandidates actively collude with some employees of the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal and Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.
The modus operandi of the dishonest officials at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal appears to be that they issue forged mark sheets by substituting the names of applicants who may be ingratiating or bribing them, which relate to roll numbers of other persons, who have actually written the examinations, and have obtained the marks shown. Thereafter the dishonest officials sitting in the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal issue certificates certifying that the candidate concerned has actually written the examination and the certificate relates to him. This fact is usually verified by the corrupt officials at the desk at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopa when the enquiry is initially made from them, and consequently the dishonest candidates have even succeeded in obtaining admission to the BTC course. Only when a verification was made from the Principals of the concerned colleges whether the named candidates had indeed written the examinations, it was found that the roll numbers on the mark sheets related to other persons and not the petitioners and the other accused at all.
The result is that deserving candidates, who may have qualified on merit loose out their right to admission to BTC courses and consequent employment opportunities to these fraudsters who are engaged in such grave frauds. The standard of teaching in primary education has accordingly declined. There is also great teacher absenteeism in primary schools because there is no honest commitment to their jobs of such teachers who obtain admission to BTC courses and thereafter secure teaching jobs in primary schools on the strength of forged degrees and certificates and consequent failure of teaching at the primary level which is the foundation for a child's education, with grave loss to the child, the society and the nation.
This Court will be failing in its duty if it does not recommend coming down with a heavy hand and taking strict action against the culprits engaged in manufacturing or using forged mark sheets for obtaining admissions to BTC courses.
We also anticipate that some middlemen may be involved, who do not appear to have been identified as yet probably because many orders staying arrests were obtained by candidates seeking admission to BTC courses, on the basis of forged and fabricated mark sheets, in these and connected writ petitions, hence the said candidates could not be interrogated to find out the names of the middlemen involved in promoting these malpractices. As the investigations of the cases against most of the writ petitioners appear to have been completed or are nearing completion, and the interrogation of the accused appears to be imperative for identifying these middle men and other accused who may be conspirators or actors of this larger conspiracy, the orders staying arrests in all the connections petitions are forthwith vacated.
As indicated above the CBCID is also investigating the matter relating to the officials of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, who are involved in this crime, we direct that the investigation in all these connected petitions whether they relate to Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Varanasi or any other district to be transferred to the same CB CID investigating agency so that the scam (and the various offenders involved therein) may be unearthed in its totality. Coercive measures may also be taken against the concerned candidates and officials of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal, so that they may be interrogated and the middlemen involved in facilitating this offence may be identified.
We also direct that the investigation may be expeditiously concluded by the CB CID against all the accused persons preferably in a period of 3 months.
Here we would like to record our appreciation of the learned Government Advocate Sri D.R. Chaudhary and the AGA, Sri Vimalendu Tripathi, and for their positive suggestions in this non-adversarial litigation and support to the Court in its pious mission of tackling this grave menace of securing admissions to BTC courses by persons relying on forged mark sheets. He was readily agreeable and raised no objection to the investigation being conducted in its totality by the CB CID as directed by the Court.
Looking to the wide language of Article 226 of the Constitution we think that as substantial parts of the cause of action has arisen in the State of UP, where the candidates are applying for admission to the BTC course, there should be no impediment for this Court directing the CBCID to investigate the offences committed by the concerned officials of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and also by the concerned officials of the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal, M.P.
But we make it clear that if we are not satisfied with the investigation by the CB CID, or the CB CID faces some impediment in investigating the matter against the accused and middle men (if any) connected with the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal Bhopal who may also be involved in the crime., the Court may have no option but to transfer the entire investigation to the CBI on some future date.
In any case we are of the opinion that there is no impediment on the DGP or IG (Public Grievances), U.P. communicating with their counterparts in the State of M.P. for carrying out a joint investigation in this case and accordingly we issue a mandamus to the said authorities to comply with this direction. We also direct the Secretaries of Basic, Secondary or Higher Education, U.P., whatever may be applicable, to also communicate with their counterparts in M.P. for ensuring that this problem is jointly investigated and measures for checking the problem are put in place both in M.P and U.P.
We also think it advisable and accordingly direct the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal and other examining/ certificate awarding bodies which conduct examinations or issue certificates relating to High School, Intermediate, Graduation and Post Graduation degrees to develop appropriate software for uploading information of the candidates who have actually written the examinations, their parentage and address, date of birth, the year of the examination, the centre from where the examination was written, division and marks obtained, and other relevant details on the website, so that imposters cannot claim to have acquired the said marks by falsely substituting themselves in place of the genuine students in the mark sheets relating to bona fide candidates in collusion with some dishonest examining/ certificate issuing body employees. If possible scanned or digital photographs of the candidates should also be placed on the website. We may mention that by this computerization process, it would be much easier to verify whether any wrong candidate has been able to secure admission to BTC courses or to have obtained job in the said sector on the basis of non-existent or forged mark sheet, which relates to another person.
We are pleased to note that the system of Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) examination has been introduced as that will also check dishonest, unqualified candidates with forged degrees securing easy entry into teachers education courses and thereby securing teaching jobs.
Similar information regarding all the teaching and non-teaching employees of the Primary, Secondary and Higher Education sector along with photographs, if possible, containing the aforesaid data may also be uploaded on the website, so that unqualified persons working on these teaching jobs on the basis of forged degrees may be identified and removed from their jobs and criminally prosecuted.
Information regarding the different courses offered by the different institutions and their equivalence with other degrees should also be mentioned on the net.
The concerned secretaries and police heads must also take steps for checking other frauds such as the reported practice of transferred employees drawing salaries at the existing place whilst also drawing salaries at the transferred place of work, or another fraudulent person receiving the double salary at the new place of work in the name of the employee on the rolls, by placing information regarding the transfer of the employee on the net and taking other relevant measures and they shall also apprise the Court regarding these other frauds and scams in the education sector on the next date, so that appropriate directions may be issued.
We would like the concerned Education Secretary to take the aforesaid suggestions into consideration for issuing appropriate orders and apprise this Court by the next listing about the steps taken for carrying out the recommendations made hereinabove.
We would like to get a complete report from the investigating agency regarding the progress of investigation and whether the accused persons have been arrested and whether any additional accused persons, such as the middlemen, who have brought about a link between the candidates and the educational bodies, such as Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and the Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, Bhopal or other bodies and the progress in submission of the charge sheets.
We would like the investigating officer of CB CID entrusted with the investigation as well as his supervisory superior officer of CBCID and also a senior person in the concerned department of Education to appear in this Court for reporting compliance and for informing this Court regarding the progress of investigation and also with regard to the steps taken for placing data on the web site, for improving inter-state co-ordination and carrying out other directions given in the present and earlier orders.
List this case on 16.1.2012 for submission of compliance/ progress reports as directed hereinabove. Orders staying arrests in these petitions as well as in all connected petitions are hereby vacated. On the next date the registry is directed to list these petitions as Criminal PILs.
Order Date :- 15.11.2011
