The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry against unidentified officials of Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission for allegedly granting favours to close relatives of public servants in an examination to select additional private secretaries during Mayawati’s tenure as Chief Minister in 2010.
The PE is based on a complaint from the BJP-ruled Government in the State which subsequently sent to the CBI by the Central government in January. It is alleged in the complaint that certain unidentified people including officials of the UPPSC committed irregularities and misconduct in the examination for about 250 posts of additional private secretaries in 2010, officials said.
The officials who have not been named in the PE extended undue favours to undeserving candidates. Some of the candidates who were the beneficiaries in the examination did not fulfill even the basic minimum eligibility, the official said quoting from the complaint.
The complaint has alleged that some selected candidates are “close relatives” of public servants then serving the Uttar Pradesh Government which was headed by Mayawati from 2007-12, they said.
The officials of the UPPSC in alleged connivance with the examiners altered marks of the candidates to enable their selection. The definition of public servants includes elected representatives who have taken oath of office.
On a question whether the “close relatives” were of elected representatives in the government, the official did not offer any comment saying, “These are allegations in the complaint from the state government. We have registered a preliminary enquiry.”
The move of the agency became public on a day Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party sealed their seat-sharing agreement for Lok Sabha polls to forge a formidable opposition against the ruling BJP.
The PE has no sanction under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the suspects can refuse to even join the enquiry.
However, the agency can register a regular case (FIR) after gathering prima facie material to substantiate the allegations in the PE.