JPSC bends rules to appoint kin as deputy registrar

Vijay Deo Jha | Ranchi | Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Former members of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) is now facing a vigilance probe for allegedly twisting rules to appoint their kith and kin as deputy registrars in the universities of Jharkhand.

For instance, the deputy registrar of the Ranchi University, Preetam Kumar did not fulfill the minimum qualification, ie, a minimum of eight years of service at a Government college holding the post of reader, the day he was appointed as the deputy registrar.

He was appointed against an advertisement by the JPSC in 2004 for vacancy of five deputy registrar, assistant registrars and others. But Preetam Kumar was only a lecturer with barely two-and-half years of service at a Government college when he was appointed deputy registrar.

“Rules were bended in his favour. According to rule the candidate must be a reader with minimum of eight years of teaching experience at a Government college. He had barely two and half years of teaching experience the day he was appointed deputy registrar of Ranchi University,” Sunil Kamal, Secretary Jharkhand NET-BET Association, said.

Preetam Kumar is stated to be the younger brother of sacked JPSC chairman Dilip Prasad. Interestingly Kamal who had applied for the post of deputy registrar at Ranchi University under Scheduled Caste category was surprised to know after the publication of the results that the JPSC had abolished the reserved post without publishing any corrigendum.

Preetam Kumar, who was selected in Bihar by the Bihar State University Commission in the year 2003, joined as lecturer of English at one of the colleges of Jaiprakash Narayan University, Chapra.

But then his association with the then chairman of the JPSC came as an added advantage. Though, rule regarding to the selection of deputy registrar clearly mentioned that the incumbent must possess a minimum of eight years of teaching experience at a constituent college. RU insiders said that JPSC relaxed the rule and counted his teaching experience of an affiliated college; Sanjay Gandhi Memorial College, where he taught for around six years.

“Since the post of deputy registrar is equivalent to the post of reader, the incumbent must fulfill the criteria. The appointment was finally made in April 2005…Preetam had superseded others,” a top RU official said.

While such appointments have come under the scanner the current status of the deputy registrar is not known. RU Vice-Chancellor AA Khan does not know whether Preetam Kumar is on lien or he resigned from the Jaiprakash Narayan University or continuing service in both the universities.

Khan took shelter behind memory-muddle to ascertain whether the service of the deputy registrar has been confirmed or not. “I do not remember and I do not know anything,” Khan said.

So was the case with Preetam Kumar who refused to answer to those questions. “Mujhko maaf karo. Mai sidha-sadha aadmi hoon…koi controversy me fasna nahi chahta hoo. Aap university se inquiry kar len. (Spare me. I am a simple man…do not want to get indulged in controversy. You better inquire from the university about the matter.)”