The Telangana High Court on Tuesday, March 22 directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit a status report on the investigation into the paper leak of exams conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC). The court was hearing a petition filed by the National Student Union of India (NSUI) seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the paper leak.
A single judge bench of Justice B Vijaysen Reddy directed the government to provide a status report of the SIT after observing that the petitioner had not provided any tangible evidence to support the claim that the case was not being properly investigated. The court gave three weeks to the government to submit the status report and adjourned the hearing to April 11.
Advocate General BS Prasad had earlier told the court that the investigation was being carried out properly. He said that the case was politically motivated and mentioned that the petitioner had claimed that only two of the accused had been detained when the SIT had detained nine people. The petitioners also sought an investigation into the role of Tirupati, who is Minister KT Rama Rao's personal assistant.
Senior advocate of the Supreme Court, Vivek Tankha, representing the petitioners, argued that though the investigation was still in the early stages, Minister KT Rama Rao claimed that only two people were responsible for the paper leak.
Vivek told the court that there were many questions about how the TSPSC administered the exam. He claimed that more than 20 candidates from one location received higher marks, but the TSPSC withheld the names of those who qualified. He argued that CBI's thorough investigation was the only way to uncover the truth. Furthermore, he pointed out that the CBI was also looking into the Madhya Pradesh Vyapam case, dealing with fraudulent practices during recruitment to government jobs.
The court issued notices to the Principal Secretary of the Home Department, Hyderabad Police Commissioner, DCP (central zone), TSPSC Secretary and ACP (Crime) of the SIT.