With the recent allegation against Probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Khedkar, who allegedly faked her caste certificate along with the disability certificate to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam, a few more cases of opting for fraudulent means to get unfair advantage has come to fore.
The most prominent among them is former IAS officer Abhishek Singh, a part of the 2011 batch. Singh, who quit the IAS in September 2023 to pursue a career in acting, reportedly claimed to have a locomotor disorder to avail affirmative action and concessions in the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category. The validity of his selection as a PwD candidate raised eyebrows when his dance and gym videos went viral on social media.
Defending himself, the former IAS officer claimed he was being “targeted for his pro-reservation stance”.
The practice is nothing new and is not only limited to public service entrance examinations but other competitive examinations, academic examinations and government jobs.
Here is a list of cases where fraudsters have abused the affirmative action originally meant to uplift socially, economically and physically disadvantaged sections of the society.
1) The admission of 14 students into medical colleges in West Bengal was cancelled on Calcutta High Court’s order after a candidate Ishita Soren, belonging to the Scheduled Caste (ST) category, filed a petition in September 2023. She suspected fraud when a few National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) candidates traditionally belonging to the non-ST category bagged seats in the state medical colleges, states a report by Careers360.
2) Last month, July 2024, an Indian student, Aryan Anand, was deported by the US when Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, through their investigation, found that he had submitted fake certificates. The incident came to light when he boasted about faking income statements, academic transcripts, and his father's death certificates among others on his Reddit account, reported NBC10 Philadelphia.
3) According to a report by Times of India, in March 2023, the East Singhbhum Education Department, Jharkhand, through its verification, found that over 60 applicants had submitted fake birth certificates and 40 had given fake income certificates to gain free admission into private English schools under Right to Education (RTE).
4) In 2019, the Halasuru Gate police in Karnataka booked five government employees after an investigation by the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE), through its investigation, found that they had submitted fake ST/SC certificates while joining services to avail of benefits offered to ST/SC category candidates.
The consequence of faking credentials to get benefits reserved for the backward class is removal from the institution or organisation. Along with dismissal, the fraudsters may have to face jail time along with fines.
In March 2018, then-President Ramnath Kovind approved a bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly to penalise the use of fake caste certificates for getting jobs or admission to educational institutes.
As per its provisions, a person found guilty of the above crime would face a jail term of up to three years but not less than six months. The offender will also have to pay a fine of up to Rs 50,000 but not less than Rs 10,000, reports Times of India.
