UPSC selectees for DGCA airworthiness officers accused of submitting fake degrees | India News

MUMBAI: The aeronautical engineering degree certificates submitted by certain candidates selected recently by the UPSC to the post of airworthiness officers in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were obtained by fraudulent means, according to the allegations levelled in a case filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in April end.
The case has been filed by six aeronautical engineers, currently employed with the DGCA as airworthiness consultants on a contractual basis. The applicants have appealed for the said UPSC “impugned result” to be set aside so that the recruitment process can be reconducted. In the interim, the applicants have sought a stay on the appointment of the airworthiness officers.
The matter pertains to the advertisement placed by UPSC in June 2023 to fill 80 vacancies to the post of ‘Airworthiness Officer’ in DGCA. The said six engineers who filed the case before CAT had applied to these posts and they were called for interviews, but not selected. “It was only thereafter that the applicants found out that the entire recruitment process conducted by the UPSC was marred by numerous irregularities and contraventions of established norms, particularly with respect to the qualifications and experience criteria for the position,” alleged the case filed before CAT.
So, what are the jobs that a DGCA airworthiness officer handles and how does this impact air safety?
The DGCA airworthiness officer is tasked with duties such as carrying out inspection of aircraft maintenance, investigation of major defects in aircraft, violations of the national air law and regulations, frame and amend regulatory requirements etc. The airworthiness officers also review applications for aircraft registration certificates, permits to fly, licensing, records of aircraft, service bulletins and airworthiness directives, all of them duties that have a direct bearing on air safety.
Given the technical nature of the job, the UPSC eligibility criteria for this job lists a BSc degree in Physics or Mathematics or Aircraft Maintenance or alternatively, an engineering degree in streams such as aeronautical, mechanical, electrical, electronics or telecommunications from a recognized university. The candidates should have a valid aircraft maintenance engineer’s license issued by the DGCA (not mandatory for candidates with aeronautical engineering degrees). They should also have three year of aircraft maintenance experience in a DGCA-approved organisation, said the UPSC selection criteria list.
A total of 891 candidates applied for these 80 posts. In Feb this year, the UPSC published a list of 272 shortlisted candidates asking the candidates to appear for interviews in March. The case filed before CAT alleges that among the candidates selected by the UPSC post the interview are those with aeronautical engineering degrees that won’t stand scrutiny.
“A scrutiny of the result sheet revealed that a significant number of candidates have obtained questionable engineering degrees from the very same institutions such as Singhania University, Rajasthan Technical University, and Sun Rise University,” alleged the `Original Application’ filed before CAT. It has listed the ministry of civil aviation, UPSC, DGCA director general and DGCA director, airworthiness as respondents.
“In specific instances the candidates purportedly acquired engineering degrees while being concurrently employed full-time in different states…,” it said. Another issue was the time duration for getting the engineering degree with some of these “candidates allegedly completing engineering degrees within implausibly short durations, some within 12 or 18 months, without the requisite approvals from recognized bodies such as the AICTE or UGC.” The applicants have drawn attention to lapses observed during the document verification process conducted by UPSC, wherein essential documents such as degree mark sheets were not physically verified for any of the candidates, it said. “This oversight raises serious doubts about the authenticity of qualifications presented by the candidates,” it said. The applicants implored CAT to intervene and direct a thorough investigation into the recruitment process for the position of Airworthiness Officer within the DGCA. “Seeking accountability, transparency, and adherence to established norms, the Applicants aim to uphold the integrity of the recruitment process,” the case said.
“The action of respondents in ignoring that there are numerous candidates that have obtained their engineering degrees from institutions of questionable repute, such as Singhania University & Rajasthan Technical University raises doubts about the authenticity and credibility of their credentials…. The action of the respondents in not physically verifying the essential documents, such as degree mark sheets, during the document verification process indicates a lack of due diligence in ensuring the authenticity of qualifications presented by candidates..,” the case said, seeking an interim stay on the appointments and praying that the recruitment be reconducted.