If the government is its own, anything can happen. That too in an important institute like IIM. It will sound surprising but it is true that the central government has handed over the reins of this important institution to a person who does not have the required educational qualification. Even then, the government was not ready to accept that it had made a mistake in the appointment of the director. The special thing is that this person has again got a second term.
On Monday, the Ministry of Education admitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that Dheeraj Sharma was made the director of the IIM, despite having passed the second division at the undergraduate level, the Indian Express reported. The report says that the government had earlier denied this fact during the hearing of the matter in the High Court. The truth was also told when after the completion of the first term of Dheeraj Sharma, he got the appointment letter for the second season as well. To be appointed to the post of director here, one must have a first class degree in bachelors or undergraduate.
RTI activist Amitav Chaudhary has filed this petition. There are irregularities in this appointment of Dheeraj Sharma, the matter was raised only in September 2021. There were allegations that Dheeraj Sharma had not presented his undergraduate degree for appointment. Whereas the ministry had written to him three times regarding this.
The special thing is that the Government of India itself had earlier claimed in the court that the petition challenging the appointment of Dheeraj Sharma is not correct and it should be dismissed. In his first affidavit, filed in February last year, he had said that Sharma’s appointment was made as per due process and it should be upheld.
The ministry said in its affidavit that Dr. Dheeraj Sharma’s bachelor’s degree is of second division. This is not in line with the qualifications required for the post of Director of IIM Rohtak. The affidavit also said that the ministry is now investigating how Sharma was appointed and who were responsible for this.