Fraudulent practices to gain public employment cannot be countenanced, the Kerala High Court said on Tuesday while denying bail to one of the men arrested for alleged impersonation and cheating in a recruitment test for technical staff vacancies at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
Justice Mohammed Nias C P said that impersonating in a competitive examination like one conducted by the VSSC has to be dealt with sternly.
The court said it was “crystal clear” that the crime alleged to have been committed by the petitioner-accused, Amith, was a very serious one of trying to get employment by rigging the examination of a strategic organization like VSSC.
The court observed that such actions affects all the candidates who wrote the examination, the organisation and the credibility of the selection process itself.
“Fraudulent practices to gain public employment cannot be countenanced by a court of law,” it said.
The court further noted that all the stakeholders were “hoodwinked” by the accused by manipulating and corrupting the selection process of a premier organisation in the country.
“That apart, since all the accused involved in this case are to be identified and apprehended, granting bail to the first accused (Amith) would certainly hamper the investigation and help the other accused escape.
‘I also take note of the apprehension raised by the prosecution that the petitioner (Amith), being from another state, may abscond and obstruct the investigation and the trial. Under such circumstances, for the reasons mentioned above, I am not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner,” Justice Nias said.
The court also noted in its order that there was prima facie evidence to show that Haryana-native Amith entered the examination hall with the hall ticket and related documents of the second accused in the case and wrote the examination on behalf of the second accused.
The lawyer for Amith told the court that he was innocent and falsely implicated.
The lawyer argued that the allegations against the petitioner-accused were false as he was employed in the Army, was on leave and had only accompanied his friend, who was to appear for the test, to Kerala.
The accused was arrested while he was resting in the hotel on a wrong impression, the lawyer claimed.
It was also argued that the continued incarceration of the accused was not required as he was in custody since August 22 and he had no criminal antecedents.
The recruitment test was held on August 20 at 10 centres in Kerala and two Haryana-natives were arrested for alleged impersonation and cheating in the examination.
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As police launched a full-fledged probe into the matter, VSSC — the lead centre for the development of ISRO’s launch vehicles — on August 21 cancelled the exam for the posts of technician-B, draughtsman-B and radiographer-A.
Subsequently, more Haryana natives were arrested from Kerala in connection with the case.
Over 400 candidates had appeared from Haryana alone for the test, police had said.
Regarding the technique used by the accused, the police had said button cameras were used to scan the questions which were sent to someone elsewhere using the mobile phones.
Thereafter, the answers were received by the accused through small listening devices inside their ears, it had said.
