Dheeraj Sharma’s appointment has been challenged in the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The petitioner has alleged that the Director, among other things, misrepresented his educational qualifications and is ineligible to hold the post. The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed IIM-Rohtak Director Dheeraj Sharma to reply to the Union Education Ministry’s show-cause notice over his illegal appointment within a week.
As first reported by The Indian Express, the Education Ministry had issued Sharma a notice on March 28 for “misrepresenting” his educational qualification, which led to his illegal appointment in 2017.
He was given two weeks to explain why the government should not initiate administrative and legal action against him for “abusing” his position, “concealing” his Bachelor’s degree and bringing disrepute to an institute of national importance. The notice also stated that Sharma committed an act of moral turpitude and acquired financial interest as IIM Director, which was against public interest.
Sharma had petitioned the High Court earlier this month to quash the Ministry’s notice on the ground that the government “lacked the jurisdiction” to do so as the institute’s Board of Governors was the appointing authority.
However, the High Court didn’t quash the notice and instead directed him to reply within a week. But the court also ordered that the government could not take any further action based on his reply till the next date of hearing.
On Friday, Sharma’s lawyer had argued that even if his appointment was irregular, he had discharged the duties and was entitled to getting paid for it and that the “state could not get any work done from any employee without paying salary”.
His side also argued that since Sharma’s first term was already over, the show-cause notice was infructuous.
The Additional Solicitor General of India, Satyapal Jain, argued that Sharma’s writ was premature since he would have an opportunity to present his case in his reply to the government’s show-cause notice.
Last month, the government, after initially denying any irregularity, had admitted in the High Court that Sharma was appointed head of the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak, in 2017 despite securing a second division at the undergraduate level. A first-class Bachelor’s degree was the prerequisite for the job. The government told the court that it was now “enquiring” how the omission and commission happened and fixing responsibility. A show-cause notice was subsequently served to Sharma on March 28.
However, this admission was made only after Sharma completed his five-year term. He was reappointed for a second term by the institute’s Board of Governors on February 28 this year under the IIM Act, despite the Ministry representative’s objections.
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