NEW DELHI
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court, urging an inquiry into the appointment of 35 recently appointed principals in Delhi government schools due to alleged “forged and fabricated documents.”
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner, Navendu Charitable Trust, requested time to involve the individuals against whom allegations have been made.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula granted the petitioner’s counsel the requested time and scheduled further proceedings for October 18.
The Delhi government was represented by its standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi and lawyer Arun Panwar. The petition alleges that some of these candidates submitted fraudulent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates for their selection, despite having an annual family income exceeding Rs 8 lakh. Others allegedly exploited the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation by presenting counterfeit experience documents.The plea indicates that the petitioner was only able to identify these candidates, suggesting that there may be more instances of misrepresentation and illegal selection.
The plea argues that the erroneous and wrongful selection has resulted in the rejection of numerous deserving candidates, thereby violating Article 16 of the Constitution. These candidates are currently on probation, receiving salaries exceeding Rs 1.75 lakh per month. If they become permanent employees, the investigative process will become even more complex.
The plea asserts that this scandal is causing suffering for genuinely deserving employees and that, amid India’s high unemployment rates, such despicable fraud is unacceptable.
Furthermore, the petition highlights the critical role of school principals in shaping the future of many children and emphasises that society cannot tolerate corruption in the selection process for these positions. It places the responsibility on the Delhi government’s education department to thoroughly verify all records submitted by selected candidates. However, it alleges that the department has not fulfilled this responsibility, leading to the selection of these 35 misrepresented candidates and others for the position of principal.
The petition seeks a directive for the Delhi government to investigate the selection of these candidates before the probation period concludes and to conduct an inquiry with impartiality and fairness.