Delhi court gives huge relief to Smriti Irani, refuses to issue summon on fake degree case

New Delhi: The Patiala Court on Tuesday refused to issue summon to Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani in a fake degree case where her education qualification came under scanner after she contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 

The controversy regarding her degree erupted when a freelance writer Ahmer Khan filed a complaint against the former HRD minister accusing her of providing contradictory affidavits regarding her educational qualification during elections. 

According to the affidavit submitted by Irani before the Election Commission of India, she completed BA course from Delhi University in 1996. Following a court order, the Delhi University claimed that the documents relating to her course were yet to be found. However, the information on this was available on its website, it said. 

The court had on November 20 last year allowed the complainant's plea seeking direction to the officials of EC and DU to bring the records of Irani's qualifications after he said he was unable to place them before the court.

In his complaint, Khan had alleged that Irani had deliberately given misleading information about her academic qualification in the election affidavit filed in 2004, 2011 and 2014 and did not give any clarification despite concerns being raised on the issue. 

Khan had further claimed that Irani had knowingly furnished misleading information about her education qualification, and that a candidate, deliberately giving incorrect details, can be punished under the provision of IPC and under section 125A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA).