Jitender Singh Tomar is an Indian politician, who is the current cabinet minister of home and law and justice, under the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal.[2] He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and represents Tri Nagar in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi.[3][4]
Early life and education
Tomar was 48 years old, when he sworn in as minister in February 2015.[2] He is the son of Balbir Singh Tomar. He is enrolled with Bar Council of Delhi and is a self-employed lawyer.[5][6] As per his election affidavit, in 1999 he obtained LL.B. degree from the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bihar.[5]
Fake degree row
When Tomar stood for elections from Tri Nagar, a controversy erupted that his degree was fake. [7]
Before he was sworn in as law minister, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to Tomar, Bar Councils of India and Delhi, Election Commission of India and the universities from where he claimed to have graduated as well as studied law and sought their replies before the next date of hearing, April 27 regarding allegations of his degree being "false and bogus".[8] The petitioner had alleged that Tomar's Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from Avadh University was fake. Also, Tomar's law college Bishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Study College, Munger, Bihar "does not meet the standards prescribed by Bar Council of India".[9]
Tomar told the Times of India that he holds a valid law degree from the Chaudhary Charan Singh University.[2][6] On 13 March 2015 the Delhi High Court refused to withdraw the plea against Tomar.[10][11][12][13] During the proceedings, Tilak Manjhi Bhagalpur University submitted its inquiry report to the Court and told that there was no record of his law degree.[14]
On May 3, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal defended Tomar over the matter and called for a "public trial" of the media.[15]
A few days later, the Bar Council of Delhi took a "prima facie" view that Tomar had sought enrollment as a lawyer on basis of "forged documentation and false representation".[16] The council sent a written complaint to the DCP (South Delhi) seeking a "detailed investigation" on the allegations and registration of a criminal case if needed. The Bar Council which also issued a showcause notice to Tomar requested the Delhi Police to file a report by May 28.[16]
On 27th May 2015, Institute of Legal Studies, Munger where the Tomar claimed to have studied LLB – filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court claiming that Tomar was a “bonafide student”. Amongst the documents submitted by the institute, attested copies admission register (for session 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1997-98) and marksheets containing Tomar’s name with the affidavit were also submitted. Tomar moved Delhi High Court seeking stay on Bar Council of Delhi proceedings against him over his alleged fake law degree.[17] Tomar alleged that Bar Council of Delhi had not provided him copy of the inquiry report against him and complained that the report had been forwarded to the Delhi Police instead.
On 09 Jun 2015, Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested by Delhi police and taken to Hauz Khas police station on a fake degree case[18]
Political career
Tomar was earlier a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). In 2013 he joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2013[2] and contested the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections from the Tri Nagar constituency as an AAP candidate. He polled 34,161 votes and stood second losing to Nand Kishore Garg of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a margin of 2,809 votes.[2][19]
He again contested from Tri Nagar in the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections on AAP ticket. He got 63,012 votes, defeating sitting MLA Garg by a margin of 22,311 votes.[20][21] He raised issues of parking and cheap water and power. He also campaigned for sanitation and closure of open drains, that flowed through slums. He also promised construction of a government hospital in the area.[2][19]
On 14 February 2015, Tomar was sworn as a cabinet minister in the Delhi government under chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. He holds the important portfolios of home and law and justice as well as tourism, art and culture.[2]
India
