Allahabad High Court slams couple’s ‘daredevilry’ for ‘selling’ judge posts for bribes, denies relief

Justices J J Munir and Tarun Saxena

The bench emphasised that recruitment in government service follows a structured legal process involving advertisements, applications, examinations and interviews, and observed that no individual could hold appointments ‘in his pocket’ in the manner allegedly projected by the petitioners.

“Contractual employment, in a sovereign establishment, is not a matter which can be held by someone in his pocket in the fashion that the petitioners have represented to the informant and his cheated associates,” the court said.

Government jobs in district judgeships

According to the FIR, the petitioners allegedly induced the informant and seven others to pay money in exchange for securing government jobs in district judgeships.

The court noted that the accused purportedly represented that they could arrange contractual employment in the judicial establishments, and one of them allegedly claimed that his brother was a judge in Lucknow to gain the victims’ trust.

The order records that the victims were allegedly given forged appointment letters by hand, which they carried to the Aligarh judgeship to join service, only to be informed that the letters were fake.

“It is well known that invariably, letters of appointment, in any kind of employ, regular or contractual, in a government establishment, are sent through registered post, speed post or the like. It is almost never given by hand to anyone,” the court noted.

Explanation ‘unbelievable’

According to the prosecution case, when the victims demanded their money back, part payments were allegedly made through cheques, which bounced upon presentation. The FIR further alleges threats and abuse when repayment was pursued.

Before the high court, counsel for the accused persons argued that no job scam existed and that the money in question was merely a loan advanced by the informant to help purchase a car.

The bench, however, found the explanation not believable.

“It is almost unbelievable that a sum of Rs 6,40,000 would be advanced by way of loan by the informant to the petitioners to buy a car. The informant has come up with a definitive case, which does not involve him alone, but seven other men, who have been similarly cheated,” the bench remarked.

The court said the case, as alleged, showed ‘extremely low moral fibre’ on the part of the informant and his associates as well.

“What the FIR reports is a serious matter, because, it reflects upon the integrity of public employment and public institutions themselves, particularly a sovereign institution, like the Court,” the court noted.

It observed that the matter required serious investigation and the allegations needed to be tested during the trial.

“Whatever the petitioners argue cannot be examined by us, because these are matters of serious investigation to be thoroughly done. If during investigation, the allegations are established, these have to be tested during trial. It is not our province to embark upon the task of verifying the truth or falsehood of the allegations, that figure in the FIR,” the court held.

It, therefore, dismissed the plea.

Woman duped of Rs 22 lakh

• The Allahabad High Court, in another case, 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 same bench in its March 31 order said, “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.”