The Delhi High Court on Friday granted one-day exemption to Delhi University's former Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental from personal appearance before a trial court on February 28 in a case of alleged plagiarism, cheating and forgery filed against him. Justice Sunil Gaur also granted similar relief to KVSK Prasad, who has also been summoned as accused in the case, after his counsel requested that he be exempted for a day, as he is presently residing in the US. "They (Pental and Prasad) are exempted from personal appearance for one day," the court said, adding that the two should, however, move proper application in this regard before the court concerned. Pental and Prasad sought relief when the High Court was hearing their plea seeking quashing of the trial court summon issued on November 18, 2013 and also to stay the proceedings in the case of alleged plagiarism, cheating and forgery filed against them. The two were summoned on a complaint filed by P Pardha Saradhi, presently a professor of Environmental Studies with Delhi University, who had accused Pental and his student Prasad of plagiarising his paper on biotechnology and publishing it as their own. Meanwhile, Saradhi opposed the duo's exemption plea, saying the trial court while granting bail to Pental has asked him to appear regularly before it. He further claimed that Pental's petition has not been filed on basis of true facts and was liable to be dismissed. Saradhi alleged that the petitioner has not approached this court with clean hands and has "suppressed and concealed the true facts" in the matter. "He (Pental) is not entitled for any relief as prayed whether conditional or unconditional," Saradhi's counsel said. 63-year-old Pental has been accused of cheating and misappropriating some genetic material from the university's science lab. Pental, who has challenged the trial court's summons issued to him, was granted interim bail on November 25, last year by both the lower court and the High Court. Advocate Praveen Kumar Singh, who appeared for Saradhi, had earlier said that the private complaint was filed in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate here in 2009 alleging that Pental had allured post-doctoral research student Prasad and they had plagiarised Saradhi's paper and published it as their own between 2000-2002. Pental, the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University in 2005-2010, and Prasad were made accused in the complaint. The court has fixed July 23 as the next date of hearing in the matter. PTI