Eight private junior colleges in Hyderabad and in the vicinity of Hyderabad and neighbouring districts have been under police investigation for submitting forged Fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for academic affiliations and operational permissions. The case has raised serious concerns about compliance with fire safety norms in educational institutions and the validity of documents submitted to regulatory authorities.
According to officials, the issue came up during the verification exercise conducted by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA). Eight Fire NOCs submitted by private junior colleges were allegedly fabricated or forged, they said. A criminal case was registered and investigators were looking at whether other institutions were involved with the fraud.
The complaint was made by an HYDRAA official at the Lake Police Station in Hyderabad. The official claimed junior college management submitted fake Fire NOCs to District Intermediate Education Officers (DIEOs) to obtain academic approval. Such certificates are required for institutions to meet fire safety standards for their operations.
HYDRAA is now responsible for checking and issuing Fire No Objection Certificates for non-high-rise buildings in the Telangana Core Urban Region (TCUR) by the government order. The authority is given these powers by the Telangana Fire Services Act, 1999, after being appointed by the Director General of the Telangana Fire Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence Department.
The investigation started after HYDRAA conducted a thorough verification of Fire NOCs submitted by junior colleges for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years. The Telangana Board of Intermediate Education requested District Intermediate Education Officers from Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and Sangareddy districts to provide copies of the certificates submitted by institutions seeking affiliation or renewal of permissions.
In total, 76 Fire No Objection Certificates were sent to HYDRAA for examination. In the verification process, officials found that eight certificates were all fake or forged. The agency notified the concerned District Intermediate Education Officers and recommended cancellation of academic permissions or affiliations by institutions which had used fraudulent documents.
The fact that students are submitting forged safety certificates is not only an administrative wrong but a dangerous threat to them as well, as officials say. Educational institutions have to obtain fire safety clearances if they want to be prepared for emergencies, have to have firefighting and evacuation kits in place, and have to have good infrastructure. If it is not, students, staff, and visitors are at risk in the event of an emergency.
HYDRAA also has urged the police to investigate how the forged certificates were prepared, circulated, and ultimately submitted to government authorities. The documents will be investigated to determine whether college management and/or institutions were involved in creating counterfeit certificates.
Police registered a case based on the complaint under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The authorities are now questioning those connected with the institutions and documentary evidence is being looked at for accountability. Digital records, approval documents, and correspondence related to the submission of Fire NOCs are also expected to be investigated.
Police officials said it is still an ongoing investigation and would not rule out that others were involved in preparing forged Fire No Objection Certificates. More records are being reviewed to see if more educational institutions used fake documents to obtain work permissions.
The incident has once again underscored the importance of strong regulation in the education sector. Studies suggest that regular verification of statutory certificates, including Fire NOCs, building safety approvals, and occupancy certificates is critical, and that this is in line with legal and safety needs in educational institutions. The system of document verification and digital authentication would also be a lot more efficient in the future.
As the investigation progresses, authorities would have to take the appropriate legal and administrative action against those responsible. And the outcome of the investigation might also mean more rigorous compliance checks were made on universities across Telangana so that they were able to be transparent and have a high degree of safety certification before issuing academic approval.
With inputs from PTI.
