New Delhi | Updated: November 26, 2014 02:18 AM IST
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P Pardha Saradhi (Filed case in 2009); Deepak Pental (Gets reprieve)
On a day of action-packed court drama, former Delhi University vice-chancellor Deepak Pental was arrested, then granted bail by a local court and then again given bail by the Delhi High Court in an alleged case of plagiarism and forgery.
Tuesday began with the Delhi court first hearing Pental’s bail plea in connection with a private complaint filed in 2009. The court reserved its order till 3 pm.
Meanwhile, Pental’s lawyers moved the High Court to seek a bail. The HC granted the former V-C bail around 3 pm but it soon became apparent that the Delhi court had also bailed Pental out at about the same time.
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Additional chief metropolitan magistrate V K Gautam said the former V-C has “deep roots in the society” and “in the facts and circumstances of the present case… the present bail is allowed”.
The court also asked Pental to furnish a personal bond of Rs 40,000.
The bail order comes in the case where Prof P Pardha Saradhi has accused the former V-C of plagiarism, cheating and forgery. The other accused in the case is KVSK Prasad, who currently lives in the United States.
Pental’s lawyer argued that his client was never involved in the scientific or financial aspect of the DU’s Department of Science and Technology, making the allegations baseless. Saradhi’s counsel opposed the bail on the grounds that one of the several offences under Section 436 CrPC can be tried in the court of sessions and was punishable by imprisonment for up to a life term.
The court also dismissed another application filed under Section 209 CrPC, seeking commitment of the case to the court of sessions. “The application is premature as the other accused has not put up his appearance in the present case,” the court said.
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The court remanded Pental in judicial custody at Tihar Jail after it reserved its order on the bail plea till 3 pm. After this, Pental moved the High Court. His counsel pleaded with the HC that offences under Sections 63 and Section 70 of the Copyright Act are bailable.
At the HC, Justice S Muralidhar then ordered Pental’s release, subject to his appearing before the Delhi court.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
3 min read
P Pardha Saradhi (Filed case in 2009); Deepak Pental (Gets reprieve)
