KAUSHAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel appearing for the State of Bihar.

(2.) The prosecution case, as lodged by the informant police personnel, is that on secret information that in the house of one Dinanath Singh situated at Mohalla Kanti Factory Road, Mahatma Gandhi Nagar on the first floor Pawan Kumar and Atul Ranjan Sinha are involved in circulating question papers and answer sheets for cheating in the examination being conducted by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (hereinafter referred to as the BSSC) for appointment on different posts in different departments in the State of Bihar, the informant along with other police officials raided the house occupied by Pawan Kumar and Atul Ranjan Sinha on rent, three persons seeing the police started fleeing but were apprehended. The apprehended accused persons disclosed their names as Pawan Kumar, Vipin Kumar and Navnit Kumar. On interrogation, the apprehended co-accused revealed the names of co-accused Atul Ranjan Sinha, Gorelal @ Kausik, Bhola @ Nitesh who were involved along with them in leaking the question and answer-sheets of the examination held by the BSSC for recruitment on different Government posts. They revealed that they used to take Rs.6.00 lakhs from each candidates and also disclosed their modus operandi of transmitting answers to the examinees by using Whatsapp, Bluetooth and other electronic devices. From the said room Admit cards, battery of Bluetooth, printers, laptop, original marksheets of candidates, who had approached the accused persons and other articles, were recovered. Accordingly, the Investigating Agency was set in motion and investigation conducted by the SIT.

(3.) It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that he is innocent, not named in the First Information Report and has been falsely implicated in the aforesaid case. He submits that petitioner was an examinee of the examination held by BSSC and has a brilliant academic career as he is doing Ph.D from A.N. College, Patna. It is only on the confessional statement of co-accused Pawan Kumar that he was helping him in leaking the question papers of the BSSC, he has been made accused in the present case. His own confessional statement was taken under coercion, charge-sheet has already been submitted and he is languishing in judicial custody for more than a year and considering his bright future a sympathetic consideration be given. He further submits that no benefit has been derived by the petitioner as the said leakage was detected just before or on the date of the first phase of examination. It is submitted that in the examination to be held on 29/1/2017 out of 150 questions he had answered only 100 and correct answers of which were only 60, which in no way could have indicated that the petitioner was part of the leakage of question papers and answer-sheets of the said BSSC examination. It is further submitted that the statement under Sec. 164 Cr.P.C. of co-accused Akhileshwar, Bijendra Kumar, Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.37018 of 2017 dt.18/4/2018 Prakash Kumar, Suraj Kumar, Md. Sikandar, Rahul Kishore, Harendra Prasad do not show any conspiracy of the petitioner.