PEC admission case: 12 years on, Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes FIR against 5 students

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, April 7

Nearly 12 years after the CBI registered a cheating and forgery case against 11 students on the allegations of taking admission to Punjab Engineering College after posing as Nepalese citizens, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has termed it a “misuse of the process of law” before quashing the FIR against five of them.

Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan asserted that similarly situated six students/juveniles faced a full-length trial before the Juvenile Justice Board. A finding was recorded that they committed an offence punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC before being convicted and sent to an observation home/special home for three years for reformation. But the High Court was not agreeing with the finding recorded by the board.

The matter was brought to Justice Sangwan’s notice after the accused filed a plea through senior counsel RS Rai with Gautam Dutt and Rubina Vermani. The allegations were that the students took admission under the Direct Admission of Students Abroad Scheme-2010. No less than 15 per cent of the total seats were reserved for foreign nationals.

Referring to the final investigation report of the CBI under Section 173 of the CrPC and the judgment of the board, dated November 14, 2018, Justice Sangwan observed that nothing came on record to show that the investigating agency obtained a clarification from the Government of Nepal or the Nepalese Embassy that the citizenship card — on the basis of which they took admission — was fake.

Justice Sangwan added that a witness of the Nepalese Government did not join the investigation. Even a statement under Section 161 of the CrPC was not recorded on the alleged citizenship cards being “false”. A perusal of the board judgment also revealed that no such witness was either cited by the CBI or examined. Even the board held six students guilty only on a supposition that their citizenship cards were false.

Justice Sangwan observed that the CBI never enquired whether the petitioners were granted the Nepalese citizenship card as “honorary”. The Government of India as well as the Government of Nepal had a reciprocal agreement. Citizens of both countries could acquire government jobs without even seeking a visa.

The entire prosecution fell flat as the petitioners were being prosecuted only on the basis of a presumption that their Nepalese citizenship cards were fake or a forged document since they were citizens of India by birth. This aspect was not dealt with by the board while convicting six of the similarly situated juveniles.

Justice Sangwan observed that all petitioners were of tender age and under the fiduciary relationship of their parents. The final investigation report said the parents of all 11 students made a payment of Rs11.50 lakh to two persons to get admission to a good institution. They, perhaps, believed that they would get admission in accordance with the legal procedure.

“Needless to say that the petitioners, on the one hand, have lost their admission to college; lost 11 years of their prime youth as because of the prosecution they could not get regular admission elsewhere in the intervening 11 years and the CBI, after conclusion of the trial by the Juvenile Justice Board, cannot produce any new evidence that the Nepalese citizenship cards issued to the petitioners were not in accordance with the Nepalese Citizenship Act,” Justice Sangwan concluded.