HC upholds dismissal of Asst Professor over fake certificate

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Upholding the dismissal of an Assistant Professor who got the job by producing a fake school certificate, Madras High Court bench today said allowing such persons to continue as teachers would be akin to mixing a "drop of poison in a pot of milk".
Justice S Vaidyanathan also slapped a fine of 25,000 on Assistant Professor Subramanian and asked authorities to take criminal action against him.
"Allowing them to continue as teachers is like mixing one drop of poison in a pot of milk," the judge said.
"Teaching is a noble profession...A special profession and teachers serve the future generation of the country. The society, especially future generations, will get ruined if persons like the petitioner are allowed to work as teachers. Future generation will be misguided by them."

Subramanian was employed with the Chidambaram Annamalai University Distance Education Centre.
Dismissing his petition which had sought quashing of the termination order on the ground that he was not given an opportunity to explain his stand, the judge noted that Subramanian had submitted a bogus certificate (SSLC mark sheet) to this Centre to get the job.

The Directorate of School Education officials submitted that the register number of the certificate actually belonged to one Senthil Kumar.
They said Subramanian was dismissed on November 19, 2014 by the University Registrar only after receipt of the report from the school education department.

The Judge noted that the University had found he had submitted a fake certificate when it started verifying the genuinenness of certificates after the government took over its administration.
The objective of such an exercise was to improve the standard of the University.
The guilt against the petitioner had been proved documentally by the University officials and action had been taken against him, the Judge said.
The Judge directed the petitioner to deposit the fine amount with the leper patient rehabilitation centre at Y Pudupatti village.
The officials should also take criminal action against the petitioner, the judge said.