Wednesday, 24 January 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A Right to Information (RTI) query and stern action by the State Information Commission has found that an applicant used a counterfeit marksheet of Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University (MAHGU), Pauri while applying for a post of teacher in a school in Uttar Pradesh.
The matter came into fore when the principal of Rashtriya Inter College Lavda, Meerut, UP, Devendra Kumar found a marksheet of an applicant for a post of teacher suspicious following which he wrote a letter to the MAHGU requesting it to confirm the authenticity of the marksheet. When his letter elicited no response he filed an RTI query with the university but the sought information was not given by the Public Information Officer (PIO) and deputy registrar of the university Anubhav Kumar. Not having received a proper reply from the university, Devendra Kumar knocked on the door of the State Information Commission.
Taking a stern view of the complaint the Information commissioner Yogesh Bhatt issued a show cause notice to the PIO and appellate officer of university. This notice was also ignored by them. The Information commissioner then issued a notice to the deputy registrar asking him to remain personally present in the next hearing.
Interestingly, the PIO of the university Anunbhav Kumar attended the hearing in the information commission without records. Taking a stern note of this the Information commissioner directed the officer to verify the marksheet on the spot. The officer of the university then told the commission that the document is not registered in the record of the university.
Bhatt asked the officer as to why the university has remained non committal on the marksheet if it is fake. He also said that the university should have come forward on the issue. Bhatt said that the role of both the deputy registrar and registrar of the university is suspicious in the episode. He also expressed dismay at the fact that the complainant had to use RTI to receive information which should have been easily and promptly provided by the university.
