Delhi Law Minister Jitender Kumar Tomar at Hauz Khas Police Station in Delhi
Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar of the Aam Aadmi Party
resigned on Tuesday night to spare, he said, his party of embarrassment. He has been accused by the Delhi Police of faking his Bachelor of Science (B.SC) and Bachelor of Law (LLB) degrees.
A case of cheating, forgery and conspiracy has been filed against Mr Tomar and a city court sent him to four days in police custody. The police told the court that it has sufficient proof against Mr Tomar and needs to take him to Bihar to find out "who helped him procure mark sheets."
The police is investigating Mr Tomar based on a complaint by a member of the Delhi bar association, who has accused Mr Tomar of submitting a fake B.Sc degree. Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who appeared for Mr Tomar, told NDTV, "This is just political vindictiveness...We have supplied all documents and all papers. They don't have a case." AAP has said it will move a higher court.
Mr Tomar is enrolled with the bar council of India and lists himself as a self-employed lawyer. The affidavit he filed with his nomination papers for the Delhi elections in February this year says that he got his bachelor of law or LLB degree in 1999 from the Bishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Study College, Munger, affiliated to the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in Bihar.
The minister claims to have completed his B.Sc from Avadh University in Uttar Pradesh in 1986 -87.
But the police alleges both his degrees are forged and says there are discrepancies, like the law college being de-recognised later.
But Mr Tomar says that the police are basing their assumption on an RTI filed by a lawyer, where the petitioner got his roll number mixed up. The AAP leader says he has submitted proof to the Delhi High Court that his degrees are genuine.
Mr Tomar joined AAP in 2013. He was earlier in the Congress.