Interrogate all officials in the TNSRB examination row: Madras HC to CoP
Chennai: Making it clear that all officials including the high ranking officials are to be questioned by the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai city, if necessary with reference to the documents and the materials submitted by the respective parties in connection with the alleged incidents leading to the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board examination row, the Madras high court has granted further time and directed the Commissioner of Police to proceed with the investigation.
JusticeS. M. Subramaniam said, "In view of the facts and circumstances and based on the report submitted by the Commissioner of Police, enabling him to conduct the investigation in a proper prospective so as to arrive a logical conclusion in order to initiate all further actions in the manner known to law, this court is inclined to grant further time. Equally, the report submitted by the Chairman, Tamil Nadu Uniformed Service Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) is also to be pursued in accordance with law. The chairman of the TNUSRB also initiated actions against the erred officials and certain other recommendations are also made.
Thus, the competent authorities are bound to take care of the report submitted by the chairman and proceed further in the manner known to law. Thus, the process of investigation as well as the further enquiry by the government, which are all to be proceeded with. Under these circumstances, it is just and necessary to grant further time to the commissioner of police as well as the chairman oof TNUSRB to pursue the matter enabling this court to decide the contempt petition".
In view of the fact that now the court has decided to monitor the investigation as well as the investigations led by the commissioner of police, this court is inclined to grant time and accordingly, the Registry is directed to list the matter 'for filing further report' by all concerned on September 6, 2019, the judge added.
Originally, contending that on account of wrong key answer to a question, ihalf mark was denied to him, S.Arunachalam, who is working as a constable and participated in the selection process for recruitment to the post of sub-inspector of police, had filed a petition. In order to find out the correctness of the key answer and to ascertain the genuinity of the claim of the petitioner, the court had directed the board to get an expert opinion from IIT Madras. Accordingly, based on the expert opinion, claiming to be obtained from a professor of IIT, Madras, furnished by the board, the court had dismissed the petition. However, subsequently, the petitioner claimed that the expert opinion furnished before the court was a bogus one. The Inspector General of Police and the Member Secretary of TNUSR Board stated that they identified some impersonation in the matter of providing expert's opinion to the board and in respect of such impersonation a criminal case was registered against G.V.Kumar and D.Moorthy. Following this, the judge had on April 2 initiated suo motu contempt proceedings.
In his present order, the judge said additional advocate general P.H.Arvindh Pandian submitted that pursuant to the order of the court, the COP initiated steps to accelerate the investigation in respect of the criminal case registered. The COP filed a comprehensive report in respect of the investigation done. The COP seeks further time to get appropriate report from the Forensic Department so as to get along with the further investigation and file a final report. Senior counsel A.E.Chelliah, appearing for Vijaya Kumar alias G.V.Kumar submitted that certain documents were created by the police officials of the Board by obtaining signatures in blank papers from G.V.Kumar. The signatures were obtained by force in the blank papers, when G.V.Kumar was in the office of the TNUSR Board. It was contended that by obtaining the signatures in blank papers, the officials of the police department put anti-date and filed the blank papers to suit their convenience.
G.V.Kumar was not at all in Chennai on that day and he had attended a program in Udhagamandalam. He produced documents to establish that he was taking classes in Udhagamandalam and the documents were to be verified and properly investigated by the COP. In this regard, the higher officials including IG of Police were to be interrogated with reference to the documents filed by G.V.Kumar. AAG in response submitted that the investigating officers will certainly look into those documents and initiate all suitable actions. "It is made clear that all the disputed documents are also to be scrutinized and investigated properly", the judge added.
The judge said this court was of the view that the CoP was entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the investigation and therefore, there may not be any ambiguity or difficulty in interrogating all the officials, who all were connected with the issues. "This court has no iota of doubt and made it clear that no leniency or misplaced sympathy shall be shown in respect of all the persons concerned in the matter of investigation irrespective of their cadre, post or status. All concerned must be examined, investigated and interrogated, wherever necessary for the purpose of digging out the truth behind the incidents as well as the queries raised in the suo motu contempt proceedings", the judge added.
