Observing that “the common man has faith in the efficacy of corrupt practices and thinks anything can be done paying a bribe”, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition for quashing an FIR registered for allegedly duping a woman of Rs 22 lakh by promising her a PhD degree and an assistant professor’s job at a university.
The division bench of Justices JJ Munir and Tarun Saxena said in the March 31 order, “We have carefully perused the FIR. We find that the allegations are very serious in nature and disclose a very chilling trend in society, where the common man has developed a perception that anything can be done by the payment of a bribe.”
The court added, “… An educated woman herself, was taken in by the fraud, allegedly played by the petitioner into parting with a substantial sum of Rs 22 lakh and more. Admission to a PhD Course or appointment to a university cannot be done except through the procedure prescribed under rules of these universities. The PhD is earned from a university after following the PhD programme and successfully completing it.”
The appointment to a teaching post in a university is made after undergoing the recruitment process, involving advertisement of posts and applying for them, the bench said.
“… faith of the common man in the efficacy of corrupt ways has led the first informant (complainant of FIR) to be duped by the petitioner. It shows a very low state of moral fibre in society, and crimes of this kind, to regain and restore some morality in society, must not go unpunished,” the order read.
The FIR was registered on September 14, 2024 at the Swaroop Nagar police station of Kanpur City on criminal charges, including forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust on the complaint of Tanya Dixit against her acquaintances Vikram Singh Sengar, his mother Tripti Singh Sengar and his friend Priyanka Singh Sengar.
According to the court order, Dixit alleged that the accused boasted of “strong connections” in government, administration and Kanpur University, and claimed to have done favours to many by securing jobs for them.
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She further said when she asked if she could get a job in a university if she had a PhD degree or was NET (National Eligibility Test) qualified, Vikram, Tripti, his sister Sanya Sengar and Priyanka promised to get her the degree as well as the job.
For this, she was asked to arrange for Rs 22 lakh, Dixit alleged.
The complainant claimed that she initially paid the accused Rs 18 lakh, following which she received a purported appointment letter from “Kanpur University” by post, asking her to join on July 22, 2024. Vikram shared with her a WhatsApp message showing the PhD degree, she said.
When she enquired about the appointment letter and the degree, the accused came to her house and handed over documents to her and asked to pay Rs 3 lakh more.
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Dixit said after paying Rs 3 lakh, she went to Kanpur University only to find that the appointment letter and the degree were bogus and the signatures forged. The complainant further alleged that when she confronted the accused, they issued threats to her life and to implicate her in a false case.
While other named accused had earlier got relief from the High Court with certain conditions, Priyanka Sengar approached the court seeking the same.
The bench stated in the order, “We do not say that the allegations in the FIR are true, as possibly we cannot say that in these proceedings. At the same time, looking to the nature of the allegations, we are very clear in our mind that these require to be thoroughly and honestly investigated by the Police.”
“In the totality of circumstances, we do not find this to be a fit case for interference under Article 226 of the Constitution. This petition is, accordingly, dismissed,” the bench added.
