Bengaluru : Fresh revelations through Right to Information (RTI) documents have raised questions over the handling of a major fraud involving payment of salaries to fake teachers through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) in Ramanagara district between 2011 and 2014. The documents reveal that several officials accused in the case were exonerated after the government dropped departmental inquiries against them.
The development assumes significance as the alleged scam involved fraudulent salary payments to non-existent teachers, causing financial loss to the state exchequer. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, RTI records indicate that disciplinary proceedings against certain officials did not reach their logical conclusion.
According to documents obtained under the RTI Act, the Department of School Education and Literacy had sought the opinion of the Law Department regarding disciplinary action against several accused officials, including M.P. Madegowda, who had earlier been arrested in connection with irregularities in teacher recruitment and related cases.
After examining the file, the Law Department reportedly opined that a fresh departmental inquiry would be necessary against the officials concerned. The opinion was reportedly furnished nearly two years ago. However, there is no publicly available information indicating whether the School Education and Literacy Department acted upon the recommendation.
The records show that disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 10 accused officials in connection with the fake teacher salary payment scam. Departmental inquiries against two accused were conducted at the Commissioner’s level, while proceedings against Group-A officers were undertaken at the government level.
The Law Department’s note further reveals that four of the accused officers had already retired by the time the proceedings were being considered. As a result, no departmental inquiry was conducted against them due to limitations under the Karnataka Civil Services Rules (KCSR). The remaining four officers faced departmental proceedings but were eventually exonerated and cleared of the charges through final government orders.
One of the inquiries conducted at the Commissioner’s level resulted in the dismissal of First Division Assistant D.V. Manjunath from service. Challenging the dismissal, the official approached the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) through Application No. 2680/2021.
The tribunal, however, upheld the department’s action in its order dated January 12, 2022. Subsequently, the dismissed official approached the Karnataka High Court through a writ petition (No. 16654/2022). On August 18, 2023, the High Court also upheld the KAT order, effectively endorsing the disciplinary action taken against the official.
The School Education and Literacy Department reportedly concluded that the case was not fit for further appeal against the High Court order. However, the legal complications surrounding the remaining accused officials continued.
The KAT had reportedly directed that a joint inquiry be conducted against all accused officials. Acting on the tribunal’s observations, the department explored the possibility of initiating a common departmental inquiry. However, since four of the accused had already retired and the limitation period prescribed under service rules had expired, proceedings against them became legally difficult.
At the same time, the other four officials had already undergone disciplinary proceedings and were formally exonerated by the government. This created a legal dilemma regarding whether fresh proceedings could be initiated against them on the same allegations.
The Law Department, in its opinion, reportedly stated that if the government chooses to implement the tribunal’s directions, it would have to follow the procedures prescribed under service rules for conducting a joint inquiry. More importantly, it observed that since the four officials had already been cleared through government orders, any further proceedings would effectively amount to reopening the same allegations through a fresh inquiry.
The legal opinion also noted that the High Court judgment was not considered suitable for appeal and that no separate legal opinion appeared to have been sought regarding challenging a subsequent tribunal order dated March 6, 2024.
Sources indicate that senior officials have discussed the legal opinion with School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa. However, the department has yet to disclose what action, if any, has been taken following the Law Department’s recommendations.
The RTI disclosures have once again brought the decade-old HRMS fake teacher salary scam into focus and triggered fresh demands for transparency and accountability in the handling of disciplinary proceedings against public officials.
