Fake PSTM certificates: Madras HC permits DVAC to search varsities if documents are denied

The High Court also directed the investigating officer to file report on further development in the probe during the next hearing on October 28.
Madurai bench of Madras High court
Madurai bench of Madras High court(File Photo | Express)
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MADURAI: Expressing displeasure over the non-cooperation of four varsities in the investigation being conducted by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) into the alleged issuance of fake PSTM (Persons Studied under Tamil Medium) certificates by the varsities, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court permitted the investigation agency to expand the scope of the probe and add those who are suppressing material documents as offenders in the case.

The agency was also directed to depute an officer to each of the four varsities — Periyar University, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Annamalai University and Madras University — to obtain the documents. If the varsities still refuse to provide the documents required for the investigation, the agency can conduct a search and collect the documents from their premises, a bench comprising Justices P Velmurugan and B Pugalendhi said. It also directed the investigating officer to file report on further development in the probe during the next hearing on October 28.

The directions were issued on a contempt petition filed by G Sakthi Rao of Madurai in 2021, over TNPSC's non-compliance of a judgment passed by the court that only candidates who studied their entire education in Tamil medium should get PSTM reservation.

In the said judgment dated March 22, 2021, which was passed in a petition filed by Rao alleging irregularities in appointments made by TNPSC under PSTM reservation in Group I posts, the court had noted that a majority of the candidates, who were appointed under PSTM category, had studied in English medium and later obtained degrees in Tamil medium through distance education just to avail the PSTM reservation. Since DVAC was probing the fake certificate scam in MKU, the court had instructed the director of DVAC to constitute a special team headed by a DSP-level officer to probe into the problem of fake certificates, including PSTM certificates, issued by MKU and other universities, and file periodical status reports.

Following the court's warning in June 2023, MKU began cooperating with the said investigation, which led to the revelation that four candidates had obtained fake PSTM certificates from the varsity and got appointed in Group-I posts. The investigation officer is also suspecting 22 more candidates, who got PSTM certificates through distance education from the above four varsities, but expressed similar difficulties in getting even basic documents required to clear the suspicion.

Displeased by the fact that the investigation has already been delayed by two years due to the non-cooperation of the varsities, the judges suo motu impleaded them and issued the above directions.

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