By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : A quasi-judicial organisation served an ultimatum to the Kerala University Friday to produce within four days all records, including answer sheets, of an examination conducted in 2006 to recruit assistants in the varsity.
Justice Nair of the Upa Lokayukta (deputy ombudsman) asked the university to submit application forms, marks list, interview list and all other records of the examination. He added that if the university failed to do so, then the Upa Lokayukta will forcibly seize all the records.
The university was supposed to file an affidavit Friday on the whereabouts of the missing answer sheets. Instead of doing so, its counsel pleaded that the entire process had been fair and transparent.
Nearly 36,000 people sat for the examination of which 156 were declared successful. It was alleged in a complaint that nearly 60 of the successful candidates were close relatives and friends of people in the ruling political party.
A Kerala University senate member and Congress student leader Sujith S. Kurup had filed the case with the Upa Lokayukta, alleging large-scale corruption over the appointments.The university’s Vice-Chancellor M.K. Ramachandran Nair and Registrar K.A. Ashim are the first and second accused in the case filed by Kurup.
Last month at a hearing, Justice Nair suo moto included Pro Vice Chancellor V. Jayaprakash as the third accused as he was in charge of the recruitment process.
Though the test was conducted during the previous Congress-led government, the list of those who passed the exam was put out after the Left Democratic Front came to power and the final list of successful candidates came a few months back.
The Upa Lokayukta has now posted the next hearing of the case for Tuesday.