Justice N S Kariel was hearing a petition filed by Binal Patel, one of the accused students in the July 2023 case of the Gujarat University (GU) of around 28 'missing' answer sheets of the BSc nursing exam. (File Photo)
The Gujarat High Court (HC) on Tuesday directed an Australia-based accused in the 2023 case of the missing nursing answer sheets of Gujarat University (GU) to return to India by January 6, 2026, to appear before a trial court that has issued summons and warrant to frame charges in the case, failing which “appropriate proceedings” shall be initiated against her. The HC, in an oral order on Tuesday, granted that the anticipatory bail of the accused would continue until January 7.
Justice N S Kariel was hearing a petition filed by Binal Patel, one of the accused students in the July 2023 case of the Gujarat University (GU) of around 28 ‘missing’ answer sheets of the BSc nursing exam. Patel, who has been summoned by the Ahmedabad sessions court to appear before it for the process of framing the charges in the case, had implored the HC to grant her time till February or March to remain present in India. On Monday, while hearing the submissions of Patel’s counsel, the HC had orally remarked that the accused “could not take the judiciary” for granted and directed the counsel to make a submission of a definite date of arrival of the accused on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Patel’s counsel informed the court that she would arrive from Australia on January 6, 2026. Considering the submission made by the counsel before the HC, the court said in an oral order, “The order of anticipatory bail dated April 29, 2024 and the liberty granted to the present applicant vide order dated June 19, 2024 by the learned Sessions Court shall continue till January 7, 2026. In case the present applicant does not come back to India on or before January 6, 2025, then appropriate proceedings shall be initiated against the applicant…”
In her plea, Patel informed the court that she is “settled in Australia” and requires time to process her travel to India. Patel’s counsel, Nisar Vaidhya, told The Indian Express, “In our petition, we submitted that her presence may be exempted for framing of charges or then she be virtually allowed to join the proceedings… The summons from the Sessions Court were received about two months ago and thereafter a warrant has also been issued… We had also prayed that she be allowed time till February to travel to India as this is a difficult time with steep airfares. Since the court has rejected the original plea and directed her to arrive in a span of two weeks, we have assured that she will be in India by January 6…”
According to the case of the prosecution, a bunch of answer sheets of students of the BSc nursing course and some of the physiotherapy course had been allegedly removed from the locker room after the exam was held on July 10, 2023, to facilitate some students to “fill in blank answers” in lieu of Rs 50,000 per student. The prosecution’s case is based on the July 12, 2023, complaint lodged by GU after student unions brought the alleged matter to light and the answer sheets were found on the campus a couple of days later.
Two former student leaders, Sunny Chaudhary and Amit Singh, as well as a peon, Sanjay Damor, were said to be the main accused in the case and were arrested in the subsequent month of August 2023, following investigations. Vaidhya added that no specific role has been ascribed to Patel in the case, who has been granted anticipatory bail since the time the FIR was lodged at the Gujarat University Police Station and has never been arrested.
Vaidhya said, “The sections invoked by the police in the FIR are such that the case can be tried by the Sessions court… It was due to the time taken to process the case and commit it to a sessions court that the charges are being framed now, two years after the filing of chargesheet.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
