Tadepalli (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 4 (ANI): Senior Advocate and former Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh, S Sriram Subrahmanyam, appearing for the petitioner in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Mega DSC-2025, urged the Andhra Pradesh High Court to order a CBI investigation into the entire recruitment process.

He argued that the alleged irregularities were not isolated incidents but pointed to a systemic failure affecting the fairness and integrity of the recruitment. After hearing the submissions, the Andhra Pradesh High Court posted the matter for further hearing after three weeks.

Subrahmanyam argued that the Government made major changes to the sports quota policy just before issuing the Mega DSC-2025 notification. He pointed out that the reservation under the sports quota was increased from 2% to 3%. He also submitted that the requirement of qualifying in the entrance examination was removed. According to the counsel, these changes benefited a predetermined group of candidates and were introduced without transparency.

The counsel submitted that several candidates allegedly received appointments by relying on sports certificates that did not meet the prescribed eligibility rules. He placed sample certificates before the Court and argued that some candidates had only participated in local competitions instead of recognised State or National-level events. He contended that these examples showed a pattern of irregularities and not isolated mistakes.

Subrahmanyam pointed out that the Government later withdrew the Government Orders relating to the sports quota after public criticism. According to him, this withdrawal itself raised serious questions about the policy changes and justified an independent investigation.

The counsel informed the Court that much of the material relied upon had been obtained through Right to Information (RTI) applications and other public sources. He explained that only representative examples had been filed before the Court because the Government had not published the complete merit list.

The counsel submitted that many affected candidates had not approached the Court because they feared legal action and intimidation. He also argued that Government communications discouraged the publication of allegations relating to the recruitment process. He undertook to place supporting material before the Court.

Addressing the petitioner's political affiliation, the counsel submitted that the PIL was filed in the larger public interest as the issue affected thousands of teacher aspirants. He argued that while individual writ petitions could address personal grievances, only a PIL could seek an investigation into the systemic issues affecting the recruitment process.

He sought a CBI investigation into the entire Mega DSC-2025 recruitment process. The counsel requested that the probe should cover the preparation of question papers, conduct of the examination, certificate verification, implementation of the sports quota, and the overall selection process. He also referred to an FIR registered in connection with alleged irregularities and argued that the investigation should not be limited to one incident but should examine the entire recruitment exercise.

After hearing the submissions, the High Court posted the matter for further hearing after three weeks.

(ANI)

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.