Chandigarh: A Chandigarh court has commenced the trial in the alleged 2011 Chandigarh Police recruitment scam after rejecting the discharge applications of former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jagbir Singh and Inspector Nasib Singh. The Additional District and Sessions Court has framed charges against the two accused under provisions related to corruption, criminal conspiracy, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal breach of trust by a public servant. Both accused pleaded not guilty and opted to face trial. The next hearing has been scheduled for September 9 for recording prosecution evidence.
According to the prosecution, the case pertains to the recruitment process for 11 Water Carrier (Class IV) posts in the Indian Reserve Battalion, Chandigarh, initiated in 2010. A total of 22,036 candidates had applied, of whom 827 qualified the first trade test. During the compilation of the final results, the committee reportedly detected discrepancies in the allocation of marks, leading to the cancellation of the entire recruitment process. A subsequent inquiry allegedly uncovered alterations, overwriting and irregularities in the original mark sheets, following which the matter was referred to the Vigilance Department and an FIR was registered.
The court has framed charges against Jagbir Singh and Nasib Singh under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 467 (forgery), 471 (using forged documents as genuine), and 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. The court observed that the material available on record disclosed a prima facie case sufficient to proceed with the trial.
In his discharge application, Inspector Nasib Singh claimed he had been falsely implicated due to what he described as a biased and defective investigation. He argued that his role during the first trade test was limited to assisting the chairman of the selection committee and awarding marks to candidates. He further contended that the alleged alterations did not constitute forgery and that the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) did not conclusively establish that he had made the disputed changes.
Former DSP Jagbir Singh also sought discharge, stating that he had served the Chandigarh Police for nearly 37 years with an unblemished record and had been implicated without sufficient evidence. His defence argued that there was no direct proof linking him to any overwriting, correction or alteration in the mark sheets. It also pointed out that statements recorded from 77 candidates during the investigation contained no allegations of favouritism, corruption or irregularities against either the accused or the recruitment process.
Opposing the discharge pleas, the prosecution informed the court that the committee responsible for compiling the final results had identified serious irregularities and alterations in the original marks awarded to candidates. Based on the findings of the vigilance investigation and the evidence collected, a chargesheet was subsequently filed. While considering Nasib Singh’s application, the court observed that the prosecution alleged he had conspired with other committee members to increase or decrease candidates’ original marks. The court also noted that 24 alterations on the mark sheet prima facie bore Nasib Singh’s initials or signatures, as supported by the CFSL report.
However, the court clarified that whether the alterations were made to provide undue benefit to particular candidates or were intended to correct genuine errors could only be determined after a full appreciation of the evidence during trial. With regard to former DSP Jagbir Singh, the court observed that there was currently no sufficient evidence to show that he personally altered the mark sheets. Nevertheless, it held that the questions of whether he was part of the alleged conspiracy or had knowledge of the purported manipulation of marks could only be answered after examining the evidence during the course of the trial.
Both accused will now face judicial proceedings as the prosecution prepares to present documentary evidence and examine its witnesses before the court. The long-pending recruitment scam trial is expected to determine whether criminal liability can be established for the alleged manipulation of marks and irregularities in the Chandigarh Police recruitment process.
