TSPSC paper leak: High Court directs SIT to file fresh report by June

Hyderabad: A Telangana High Court Single Bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy on Friday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the recent TSPSC question paper leak case and file a fresh status report by 5 June.

Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy was hearing the writ petition filed by Dr. Balmoori Venkat Narsing Rao, president of NSUI, and two others seeking transfer of the question paper leak case to the CBI or a probe by a sitting judge.

During the course of the hearing, Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy perused the two status reports dated 10 and 24 April filed by the Special Investigation Team and instructed that senior IPS officer viz. commissioner of police, Hyderabad or CP Rachakonda or CP Cyberabad be roped in into the investigation so they can review the entire investigation and file a status report and seek the nod of the state in this regard.

Justice Vijaysen, while hearing the case, observed, “Prima facie, I am of the view that the investigation by the SIT into the question paper leak is slow…However, this court is satisfied with the investigation done so far.”

The judge made the above observation as it has been more than one and a half months since the SIT commenced its investigation in an FIR registered in the Begum Bazar police station, Hyderabad, regarding the question paper leak. Till now there is no breakthrough in unearthing the real culprits behind the leak.

Narasinga Rao, assistant commissioner of police, Central crime station, Hyderabad (part of the SIT) was present in the court hall along with advocate general Banda Shivananda Prasad.

The judge posed a series of questions to them like how many employees were working on an outsourcing basis in TSPSC, who secured more than 100 marks, how many regular employees were there in TSPSC, who appeared for exams and got more than 100 marks, and if their relatives have been questioned.

Narsinga Rao and the AG, while replying to the series of questions posed by Justice Vijaysen, said that out of 18 outsourced employees who appeared for the TSPSC examination, only one person had got NOC to appear for the examination and others were being questioned.

Further, the advocate general informed the court that the CFSL report in the case is awaited because of which the investigation has been delayed.

AG Prasad further said that the entire investigation is being done under the supervision of CP Hyderabad and the SIT will file a final report on the entire investigation in a couple of days.

The matter was adjourned to 5 June.