Mohali:- Jagmohan Singh Brar, husband of former Principal Paramjit Kaur, who had served at Phase 11, SAS Nagar, Mohali and allegedly possessed a fake M.Com degree, has been sentenced by the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, SAS Nagar, Mohali, for attempting to influence the investigation by the Vigilance Department. He has been sentenced to one year under Section 452, one year under Section 214, nine months under Section 186 and three months under Section 189 of the Indian Penal Code.
Former Punjab State Press Secretary of the Government Teachers’ Union Punjab, Harnek Singh Mavi, said in a written press statement issued here that departmental negligence towards teachers with fake degrees is extremely harmful to society, as it causes a triangular loss to students, eligible candidates and the government treasury.
Giving detailed information in this regard, the former teachers’ leader said that eight years ago, complainant Jaswinder Singh Mavi had formally brought to light the matter concerning the fake M.Com degree of Paramjit Kaur Brar, former Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Phase 11, through a written complaint.
He said that although the Education Department, due to the complainant’s persistent efforts, suspended the concerned Principal twice, the accused Principal managed to retire without difficulty each time because of the department’s lax approach and its delaying policy of putting the matter on the back burner.
He said that despite the complainant bringing the matter to the notice of the Vigilance Department, the Education Department continued to avoid granting permission for action by the Vigilance Department until the last moment, which clearly reflected departmental ill intent.
He said the unfortunate situation was that, in order to take the matter to its logical conclusion, the complainant, after becoming exhausted by repeated efforts, had to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to obtain approval from the Education Department for prosecution.
Commenting on the entire process, Harnek Singh Mavi said that by securing employment with a fake degree, the concerned accused Principal had done injustice to the thousands of students who had studied under her. At the same time, the rights of eligible candidates had been violated and the government treasury had also been openly defrauded.
He said this case was merely one example and that if a detailed investigation into persons holding fake degrees in the Education Department and other departments was conducted, a large number of such ineligible beneficiaries would come to light.
He strongly demanded that the Punjab Government identify such ineligible candidates in the Education Department, which plays an important role in shaping the future of students, as well as the departmental officials who protect them, and take exemplary action against them.
