A. PARTHASARATHY AND ORS. Vs. STATE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Criminal Revision has been preferred for setting aside the impugned order dated 14.08.2014 in Crl.M.P.No.425 of 2013 wherein the discharge application filed by A3 and A4 under Section 239 Cr.P.C came to be dismissed.

(2.) The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that on source information, the CBI has registered a case and after investigation has filed chargesheet against the petitioners herein (A3 and A4) along with A1 who is a professor in Pondicherry Engineering College and A2 who is an Assistant Professor in the said College, under Section 120B r/w 420, 468 r/w 471 IPC and under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case of the prosecution is that A1 was nominated as Chairman of Evaluation Board of Pondicherry University during the year 2007-2008 and A2 was nominated as examiner to evaluate the answer scripts pertaining to the B.Tech examination conducted during November 2007. A3, the first petitioner herein is a IIIrd year B.E., (Mechanical) student of Pondicherry Engineering College is the beneficiary and A4 is the father of A3. The relevant portion of the charge is usefully extracted hereunder:

(3.) During the evaluation process, A2 abused his official position as professor/examiner, fraudulently and dishonestly awarded 70 marks out of 80 marks and 69 marks out of 80 marks for the subjects Control System & Engineering and Mechatronics respectively. The examiner who had evaluated the answer scripts had awarded only 21 marks out of 80 marks for Control System & Engineering and 38 marks out of 80 marks for Mechatronics. Further on the final day of evaluation, the first and second accused by abusing their official position managed to enter the safe room of Pondicherry University examination wing, where the evaluated answer scripts were kept under safe custody, took out all the answer sheets bearing dummy number 1730 from the strong room. Then, A1 dishonestly and fraudulently struck off the original marks awarded on the front page of the answer scripts as well as Wall Mark List in respect of answer scripts of the subjects viz., 1) Design of machine elements-1, 2) Heat and Mass Transfer, 3) Quality, reliability and Safety Engineering, 4) Power Plant Engineering of A3 and inflated the marks on the front page of the abovesaid answer scripts as well as the Wall Mark List in his own hand writing, without the knowledge of the examiners concerned and there by forged the front page of the answer scripts and Wall Mark List of the above mentioned answer scripts intending that the above said forged documents would be used for the purpose of declaration of results by the Pondicherry University as if A3 has passed. On the basis of a source information, the first respondent has registered a case on 31.12.2008 under Section 120-B r/w 420, 468, 471 IPC and Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 against one Kanniappin and three others. After investigation, chargesheet has been filed against four persons and the petitioners herein are arrayed as A3 and A4.