Jaisalmer: Rajasthan High Court’s Jodhpur bench has sought the state govt’s response to a PIL alleging financial irregularities in teacher-training programmes at District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Jaisalmer. The court issued notices to the state and education authorities on Sept 29.A division bench of Justices Vinit Kumar Mathur and Chandra Shekhar Sharma was hearing a petition filed by retired govt employee and educationist Satya Narayan Chhangani. The case will next be heard on Oct 27.The petition alleges that training programmes were shown in official records despite some teachers not attending them. It also alleges that duty and financial benefits were recorded in the names of teachers and employees who were on leave or absent from their parent institutions.According to the petitioner, documents obtained through RTI showed that duty orders were issued using different purported signatures in the name of the then DIET principal. The court has also issued notices to principal secretary, School Education Department, directors of Elementary and Secondary Education, Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT), and joint director, among other respondents.The PIL has also raised questions over utilisation certificates. RSCERT, Udaipur, allegedly stated in an RTI reply that utilisation certificates for DIET Jaisalmer for the previous four years were not available in its records.The petitioner further alleged that an earlier complaint prompted the CDEO, Jaisalmer, to seek an inquiry by an officer from another district or division. However, the inquiry was allegedly assigned to a local committee, which, the petitioner claimed, did not properly verify original documents and gave officials a clean chit.The state counsel sought more time to file its reply, which the court granted. The allegations remain unproven and are subject to the response of the state and concerned authorities before the court.
