Congress releases CCTV footage of ‘irregularities’ in Gujarat exam

Agencies

November 29, 2019

Surendranagar, Nov 29: The opposition Congress on Friday demanded cancellation of a written test conducted recently by the Gujarat government for recruitment of non- secretariat clerks and office assistants.

It alleged large scale irregularities to favour candidates having links with the ruling BJP, and released CCTV footage of two different exam centres in Wadhwan town of Surendranagar district to prove its claim.

The exam was conducted by Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB) on November 17.

In one video clip, a candidate can be seen copying from a chit, which he apparently acquired when he was outside the exam hall for over 30 minutes, while in another video, a candidate can be seen checking his mobile phone, which is prohibited.

The person in the second video clicked a photograph of his paper in the presence of the exam supervisor as well.

Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda claimed such irregularities took place at many other centres to help those who were associated with the ruling party.

"Though we do not have videos of other centres, we are sure such irregularities took place at many exam centres. We recently made a representation on it to the governor also," he said.

"This recruitment scam is larger than the Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh. The BJP government has played with the future of over 10 lakh candidates who appeared for this exam," Chavda told reporters here.

"This is not the first time such a scam has emerged.

Gujarat government has failed to bring transparency in any exam it has conducted in recent times. Transparency is intentionally compromised to help those candidates who are linked to the BJP. Many party workers were given government jobs using such malpractice," alleged Chavda.

Apart from scrapping the clerk's exam conducted on November 17, the Congress leader demanded a judicial inquiry into all 11 recruitment tests conducted by the government in recent times.

Asit Vora, chairperson of GSSSB, refused to comment on the CCTV footage, and said the government will issue a statement soon after going through the allegations made by Congress.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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