Indian education minister to face court over ‘fake’ degree

E-Paper | May 03, 2026

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court agreed on Wednesday to hear a complaint alleging that India’s education minister lied about her college degree, triggering calls for her resignation.

The petition claims Federal Education Minister Smriti Irani made contradictory declarations about her college degree in different years to electoral authorities.

The complaint says that in 2004 Irani said she had an arts degree but in 2014 — ahead of the general elections — she claimed she had pursued a degree in commerce.

“Cognisance is taken. The matter be now fixed for pre-summoning evidence on August 28,” judge Akash Jain said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The allegation against Irani comes just weeks after Delhi’s law minister, from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested on suspicion of faking his law degree.

Jitendra Singh Tomar, who held a number of portfolios in the Delhi government including justice, then resigned after a court charged him with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.

The latest case has sparked strong demands from opposition leaders from both the AAP and Congress Party for Irani’s resignation, saying she had no “moral or constitutional or legal” right to continue as education minister.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government quickly rejected all calls for her removal.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Our readers are at the heart of everything we do.
Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com.

World

Bangladesh measles outbreak kills over 220 children since March

Indian billionaire Ambani's son offers home for Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar's hippos

India names BJP leader envoy to Bangladesh as ties thaw

Syed

Jun 25, 2015 06:32am

cannot happen in pakistan.

Recommend 0

brr

Jun 25, 2015 06:40am

With any luck, the truth will be out and she may have to pay the price if she has lied. Although a degree is not a requirement, lying about having one is serious, especially for an Education minister.

Recommend 0

Javaid Bashir

Jun 25, 2015 07:02am

She may not have a fake degree as per the suggestion made by the petitioner. Claiming to have arts degree and later saying she has pursued commerce degree does not mean she has a bogus or fake degree. Anyways she could clarify her statements by presenting the original degree in the court. Modi government has made the right decision to continue with her as minister. Unless it is proven that she holds fake degree she should remain in the office.

Recommend 0

sri1

Jun 25, 2015 07:02am

Modi comes back strong after each controversy or taint hitting his government. This is mostly because the Indian public recognizes that while the Congress ministers were really involved in lakhs of crores in blatant corruption, Modi's ministers are getting caught for really small amounts like a few lakhs - almost inadvertent omissions or slips of tongue that are normal.

Recommend 0

Sridhar

Jun 25, 2015 07:13am

She is an embarrassment heading the ministry with responsibility for education. The varying claims made by her, not in casual conversations but in official documents and legal affidavits should be closely scrutinized. Delhi University registrar's office can validate or invalidate the claim. As simple as that. Whether members of other parties were more corrupt or less corrupt is mere obfiscation and has no bearing on her qualifications to hold the exalted position. A thief is a thief whether he steals a lakh or a crore.

Recommend 0

Safwan

Jun 25, 2015 07:59am

@Syed What? People have been disqualified over fake degrees in Pakistan.

Recommend 0

Hamid

Jun 25, 2015 08:15am

there is no "fake degree", its about different affidavits.

Recommend 0

DawnReader

Jun 25, 2015 10:00am

She is a very talented lady. Checkout her biography in wiki.

Recommend 0

Sharif

Jun 25, 2015 10:03am

Fake Degree submitted by an Education Minister!

Recommend 0

gaurav

Jun 25, 2015 10:37am

This is where media plays a good role. Yesterday and today there is a continuous coverage of this. One thing is clear. Indian public and voter has become smart. If you cheat or lie you will have to pay the price.

Recommend 0

Srimanta majumdar

Jun 25, 2015 10:49am

I think modi should have thought twice before appointing a serial actress as india's HRD minister as she has fake degrees and has always lied about her qaulification !!!

Recommend 0

Jun 25, 2015 11:30am

Alarming situation for Indian education system. Hope Ms. Smriti would prove her innocence and can save image of India all over the world.

Recommend 0

byju

Jun 25, 2015 12:22pm

@Srimanta majumdar let us not be insulting. being a serial actress is not a crime and it does not mean that they are less intelligent. what have the so called degree holder ministers done so far for education?

Recommend 0

sudhakar USA

Jun 25, 2015 07:38pm

She is a very talented individual.

Recommend 0

Cyrus

Jun 25, 2015 07:55pm

She is some bigshot's daughter. That is why Modi is defending her. That said, a degree and grades only represent the fact that one can organize himself or herself and get heavy loads of class work finished. Socialization also happens among college and university educated students where they meet people who may be helpful to them in the future. If she proved capable of doing these jobs, then she made enemies along the way. She may not have attended a prestigious university and decided to update her resume. That would have been a mistake, whatever the motive. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard after his freshman year. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford never had much formal education. Michael Faraday discovered the relationship between electrical current and magnetism while reading the scientific journals published in his print shop. Without that physical formula the conveniences of our modern world would not exist today.

Recommend 0

Secular Hindu

Jun 25, 2015 08:25pm

This TV Artiste turned politician Mrs Irani is supported by BJP even after knowing well that she has made false claims on her education Degree Certificates. She has been giving contradicting statements while papers for Elections in affidavit on Stamp Paper . With such wide spread Lies spread by Mrs Irani, who is heading Human Resources Ministry is irony and sad for Indian Democracy. We all hope senses would prevail and Mrs Irani steps down after apologizing the grave Mistake done by her in making false claims.

Recommend 0

Satyameva Jayate

Jun 25, 2015 08:47pm

She needs to either DENY and face the court. Or, she admit and apologize. Since a degree was/is not a prerequisite to contest the election, she can choose not to resign.

Recommend 0

Satyameva Jayate

Jun 25, 2015 08:49pm

@Sharif - Agree.

Recommend 0

Sasa

Jun 26, 2015 08:17pm

In india too fake degree can be bought anywhere in Ludhiana, Punjab. FYI.

Recommend 0

Branded Content

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expands climate action with one Million Tree Drive and forest reforms

The province is turning policy into action through a series of large scale programmes aimed at rebuilding ecosystems and improving resilience against rising climate pressures.

Taptap Send, Arshad Nadeem partner to highlight Pakistan’s unsung champions

The initiative comes at a time when cricket continues to dominate national attention, often overshadowing achievements in other sports.

NexGen Auto (Nishat Group) to Introduce iCAUR in Pakistan

As one of Pakistan’s leading business groups, Nishat Group operates across key sectors including textiles, cement, banking, insurance, power and agriculture.