Allahabad High Court to hear petition challenging UP Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya’s alleged fake degree

The Allahabad High Court has admitted a petition challenging a lower court’s decision, which had quashed a petition seeking registration of a case against the Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister. Keshav Prasad Maurya for allegedly furnishing a ‘fake’ degree to obtain a license for a petrol pump and contesting an election.

The high court, which had earlier dismissed the petition on the ground that it was filed after the time granted by the lower court, condoned the delay following the Supreme Court’s directive to this effect.

One RTI activist, Diwakar Nath Tripathi, who has filed the review petition, contended that Maurya had obtained a degree from Prayagraj-based Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, which has been designated as a ‘fake’ University by the UGC.

The petitioner – Tripathi, in his petition, has sought registration of a case against Maurya claiming that the latter had used the ‘fake’ degree’ to obtain license for a petrol pump and also contest elections. Maurya is currently a member of the UP Legislative Council.

Earlier, a lower court had rejected the petition and given the petitioner a month to file a revision petition in the High Court. Tripathi, however, approached the high court after more than 300 days, and the high court dismissed the petition on this ground.

The petitioner then approached the Supreme Court, which directed the Allahabad High Court to condone the delay and decide the petition on merit.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, in an order passed on April 25, fixed May 6 as the next date of hearing.