The Allahabad High Court has refused to dismiss a fraud case involving false promises of a PhD degree and a university job, underscoring the need for thorough investigation and ethical practices in academia.
The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash an FIR against a woman accused of defrauding an aspirant of over Rs 22 lakh on the pretext of securing a PhD degree and an assistant professor's job.
Dismissing a writ petition filed by one Priyanka Sengar, a division bench comprising Justice J J Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena observed that even an educated woman fell prey to the fraud due to her faith in the efficacy of corrupt practices.
"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 court said.
According to the case details, an FIR was lodged by Tanya Dixit in Kanpur alleging that the petitioner, along with co-accused Vikram Singh Sengar, Tripti Singh Sengar and Sanya Singh Sengar, assured her of admission to a PhD programme at an Aligarh-based university. They also promised to secure her a job as an assistant professor at a university in Kanpur.
Relying on these assurances, Dixit and her mother transferred a total of Rs 22.18 lakh to the bank accounts of the accused. However, the informant never applied for either the academic programme or the job.
According to the allegations, in June 2024, the accused handed over a bundle of forged documents to the informant, including a PhD mark sheet, an admission letter, a topic approval letter and an appointment letter from the Kanpur-based university asking her to join in July.
When Dixit visited the university with the joining letter, the registrar informed her that all the documents were bogus and the signatures were forged.
The FIR further alleged that when the informant threatened legal action, the accused issued death threats and warned her of false implication in heinous offences.
The FIR was registered on September 14, 2024, under Section 420 (cheating) and other provisions of the IPC at the Swaroop Nagar police station in Kanpur.
In its March 31 order, the high court noted a "chilling trend" in society where people believe that anything can be achieved through payment of a bribe.
The court emphasised that admission to a PhD programme or appointment to a university teaching post can only be made through prescribed procedures.
"A PhD is earned from a university after following the prescribed programme and successfully completing it, while appointment to a teaching post is made through a recruitment process involving advertisement and due selection," it said.
Clarifying that it was not expressing any opinion on the truthfulness of the allegations, the court held that the nature of the accusations warranted a thorough and fair investigation by the police.