Impersonation in univ exam: HC grants bail to BJP dist prez

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tiruvarur district president Baskar who was arrested on charges of appointing a man to impersonate in the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) examination.

Justice AD Jagadish Chandira passed the orders on disposing of the petition filed by Baskar. The petitioner sought direction to grant bail in the case submitting that he was trapped into a false complaint due to intra-party disputes among its members.

Advocate RC Paul Kanagaraj appearing for the petitioner submitted that A2 is a person running a tutorial and he had arranged for A1 to sit for the examination in order to fix the petitioner.

“There are a total of five papers during this year and the petitioner has not appeared for all four papers. If the petitioner has to impersonate A2, he has to impersonate him to appear in all the four examinations and not only in this paper alone, ” Kanagaraj submitted.

The petitioner also noted that he is also ready and willing to furnish sample signatures and handwriting for the purpose of investigation and he is prepared to appear before the Magistrate for furnishing his sample signatures and handwriting.

Recording the submissions, the judge granted bail to Baskar considering his incarceration since August 14. “The petitioner shall report before the respondent police daily at 10.30 a.m., until further orders, and the petitioner, on a date fixed by the respondent police, shall appear before the learned Magistrate and furnish his sample signatures and handwriting in accordance with the procedures, ” the court ordered.

The case is pertaining to the complaint of a university examination hall supervisor saying that Baskar who has to write BA political science papers in Government Thiru Vi Ka arts and science college had appointed one M Diwakar to write a paper by impersonating in the exam.

After the arrest, Diwakar confessed that he was appointed by one BJP man named Ramesh Kumar to impersonate in the examination. Therefore, police booked the trio under IPC sections 109, 120B, 448, 465, 467, 468, and 471, and subsequently, they were arrested in this case.