A DGP-rank TN cadre IPS officer JK Tripathy, who chairs Tamil Nadu
Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB), has not only tarnished his own
reputation but also landed himself in trouble with the Madras HC by letting the
board file an inauthentic report to the court. He is expected to face the music
in the court today on April 5 by letting his subordinates do what they did. The court has initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against
him for having filed a bogus 'expert opinion' in court to deny appointment to
an eligible candidate for a sub-inspector post. Purportedly, the bogus report was claimed to have been prepared by IIT
Madras professor D Moorthy. On verification, it was found that IIT-M did not
have a faculty member by that name on its rolls and that Moorthy was a retired
school teacher, who was merely asked by the top brass of TNUSRB to solve a
mathematics problem. On Tuesday, after initiating contempt proceedings, Justice S M
Subramaniam issued statutory notice to Tripathy and directed the registry to
list the case on April 5 when the officer has to appear in person. "It is unfortunate to state that such a bogus expert opinion
obtained by way of impersonation was knowingly filed by the board. Therefore, the officials of the board are certainly responsible and
accountable for the act which has resulted in denial of justice to the
litigant. This not only amounts to interference with the administration of
justice but also a miscarriage of justice," Justice Subramaniam said. However, in a boon to the petitioner, the board submitted that it would
give half a mark to all nine aggrieved people, including petitioner S
Arunachalam, and include their names in the provisional list for the
appointment. The issue pertains to a recruitment drive for the post of sub-inspector
(fingerprint) in 2018. Arunachalam, a grade-II constable, applied for the post
but missed selection by half a mark. Aggrieved, he approached the high court
alleging that he missed out on the score due to a wrong answer key. However,
based on the 'expert opinion' produced by the board, Arunachalam's plea was
dismissed. Subsequently, when Arunachalam found that there was no 'expert'
identified as 'Professor' D Moorthy at IIT-M, he brought it to the court's
attention. The board also admitted that the 'opinion' was bogus and informed
the court that criminal cases had been initiated against G V Kumar, who, the
board said, was instrumental in obtaining the opinion. In his affidavit, Moorthy said he was unaware that his 'opinion' would
be filed before the court. He said: "Kumar was my professor in Madras
University. He called me over the phone and requested (that I) solve the
mathematics problem. I solved it and sent it viaWhatsApp. Thereafter, Kumar
requested me to visit the office of the member-secretary. There I was asked by
the personal assistant of the IG to solve the problem on a blank sheet which
was later printed and on which I was told to affix my signature. But when I
signed it, nothing other than my name was found on the sheet. The designation
'professor IIT-M' had been inserted in the office of the IG." When the court asked about Kumar's relationship with the board, N K
Senthamaraikannan, an IG rank officer and member-secretary of the board, told
the court that Kumar was a consultant hired by the Board to prepare question
papers.
TN's Tripathy lands himself in trouble
By IndianMandarins - 2019-04-05 11:07:56
A DGP-rank TN cadre IPS officer JK Tripathy, who chairs Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB), has not only tarnished his own reputation but also landed himself in trouble with the Madras HC by letting the board file an inauthentic report to the court. He is expected to face the music in the court today on April 5 by letting his subordinates do what they did.
The court has initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against him for having filed a bogus 'expert opinion' in court to deny appointment to an eligible candidate for a sub-inspector post.
Purportedly, the bogus report was claimed to have been prepared by IIT Madras professor D Moorthy. On verification, it was found that IIT-M did not have a faculty member by that name on its rolls and that Moorthy was a retired school teacher, who was merely asked by the top brass of TNUSRB to solve a mathematics problem.
On Tuesday, after initiating contempt proceedings, Justice S M Subramaniam issued statutory notice to Tripathy and directed the registry to list the case on April 5 when the officer has to appear in person.
"It is unfortunate to state that such a bogus expert opinion obtained by way of impersonation was knowingly filed by the board.
Therefore, the officials of the board are certainly responsible and accountable for the act which has resulted in denial of justice to the litigant. This not only amounts to interference with the administration of justice but also a miscarriage of justice," Justice Subramaniam said.
However, in a boon to the petitioner, the board submitted that it would give half a mark to all nine aggrieved people, including petitioner S Arunachalam, and include their names in the provisional list for the appointment.
The issue pertains to a recruitment drive for the post of sub-inspector (fingerprint) in 2018. Arunachalam, a grade-II constable, applied for the post but missed selection by half a mark. Aggrieved, he approached the high court alleging that he missed out on the score due to a wrong answer key. However, based on the 'expert opinion' produced by the board, Arunachalam's plea was dismissed.
Subsequently, when Arunachalam found that there was no 'expert' identified as 'Professor' D Moorthy at IIT-M, he brought it to the court's attention. The board also admitted that the 'opinion' was bogus and informed the court that criminal cases had been initiated against G V Kumar, who, the board said, was instrumental in obtaining the opinion.
In his affidavit, Moorthy said he was unaware that his 'opinion' would be filed before the court. He said: "Kumar was my professor in Madras University. He called me over the phone and requested (that I) solve the mathematics problem. I solved it and sent it viaWhatsApp. Thereafter, Kumar requested me to visit the office of the member-secretary. There I was asked by the personal assistant of the IG to solve the problem on a blank sheet which was later printed and on which I was told to affix my signature. But when I signed it, nothing other than my name was found on the sheet. The designation 'professor IIT-M' had been inserted in the office of the IG."
When the court asked about Kumar's relationship with the board, N K Senthamaraikannan, an IG rank officer and member-secretary of the board, told the court that Kumar was a consultant hired by the Board to prepare question papers.
