Delhi law minister Tomar's UG degree fake, reveals RTI query

Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar’s undergraduate degree was fake, an RTI reply has revealed, two days after a Bihar-based university said a provisional certificate he used to enrol as a lawyer was fabricated, causing deep embarrassment to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar’s undergraduate degree was fake, an RTI reply has revealed, two days after a Bihar-based university said a provisional certificate he used to enrol as a lawyer was fabricated, causing deep embarrassment to the Aam Aadmi Party.

State-law-minister-Jitender-Singh-Tomar-at-his-office-in-Delhi-secretariat-Photo-by-Arvind-Yadav-HT-File-Photo

Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Faizabad and one of its affiliated institutes, the KS Saket Postgraduate College in Ayodhya, said the minister’s B.Sc. second year marksheet was fake and his degree invalid after a Ghaziabad resident filed a Right to Information query.

In fact, the college said the 48-year-old Tomar never took admission in the institution, in a reply to a separate RTI application. University sources said the roll number series on Tomar’s marksheet was bogus and the vice-chancellor’s signature on the degree entirely different from the original one.

AM Ansari, the controller of examinations at Avadh University, told HT he enquired about the authenticity of Tomar’s B.Sc second year marksheet and conducted an in-depth probe, finding the documents to be false.

The revelation spelt further trouble for the Tri Nagar MLA, who was attacked by the Congress and BJP after the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University told the Delhi high court on Monday that a provisional certificate purportedly issued by it was "fabricated” and didn’t “exist in the institution's record".

The controversy has dented the clean image of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal as opposition parties demanded Tomar’s resignation and an investigation into the matter but the minister has called the allegations baseless.

Tomar, however, received some reprieve after the Vishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Studies (VSILS),where he studied law, confirmed the MLA was enrolled as a student and appeared for final examinations though the university to which the institute is affiliated, has denied issuing him a certificate in court.

Read: Delhi law minister Tomar denies fake certificate charges, Oppn wants him sacked

Read: University claims Delhi law minister's certificate is fake