LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has directed the CBI to probe into the alleged irregularities which came to the fore during the selection of 68,500 assistant teachers for primary schools through an Assistant Teachers Recruitment Examination, 2018 recently initiated in response to an advertisement issued on January 23, 2018.
The court also directed competent authorities to take action against erring officials, if any found, in alleged corrupt practices in the instant selection.
Hearing a bunch of petitions filed in the court over the issue, Justice Irshad Ali directed the CBI to place before it the progress report of the investigation on November 26. The court asked the premier probe agency to wind up the probe within six months. However, the court had to pass the order for probe after Advocate General Raghvendra Singh had submitted that the state government was not ready for CBI inquiry in the matter.
Delivering the order Justice Ali also directed that the officers concerned of the basic education department to co-operate in the investigation and place the necessary documents required by the CBI. In all petitions, the petitioners had made serious allegations including change of copies, undue favours to the candidates known to officials owing to which fairness of the selection proceedings was questioned.
Keeping the facts and material on record in mind, Justice Ali said that the court was prima facie satisfied that the examination conducting authorities had misused their power to give undue advantage to the candidates of their choice. They had indulged in corrupt practices.
"The candidates who have been awarded lesser marks have been found to be awarded higher marks in the written examination and the answer-book of certain candidates have been torn and pages were changed to declare them to be failed so that candidates on considerations of the authorities may be selected." Meanwhile, in another case, the bench of justice Irsahd Ali quashed the selection of 12,460 assistant teachers finding them to have been made against the UP Basic Education (Teachers) Service Rules 1981.
These selections were done in pursuance of the advertisement issued on December 21, 2016, when Samajwadi Party was in power. The court further directed for initiation of fresh process of selection by fixing a cut of date enabling them to appear in the counselling for selection and appointment in accordance with relevant rules. The court has granted three months for completing the selection process.