Court rejects police custody of man allegedly found cheating in SSC exam, grants bail

NEW DELHI: A court here has rejected an application seeking police custody of a man arrested for allegedly cheating in an examination for the post of head constable in the Delhi Police that was conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on October 27.

The court also granted regular bail to accused Dheeraj, saying "vague grounds" for police custody were mentioned in the application "only to justify the arrest". "There is no justifiable ground for the grant of police custody in the present matter, and the application of the investigating officer seeking police custody remand stands dismissed,” Metropolitan Magistrate Abhinav Pandey said in an order dated October 28. Noting that the alleged offence under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code was not committed in the presence of a police officer and that police only proceeded for investigation upon receipt of the complaint, the court said there is no requirement of the arrest.

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“It seems that some or the other vague grounds for police custody have been mentioned in the present application only to justify the arrest,” the court said. “In these circumstances, the present bail application of the accused is allowed, and he is admitted to regular court bail upon furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs 30,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of this court,” the court added. The court said the question paper was not recovered and nothing was mentioned about the person conducting the random checking. Further, the complainant neither saw the offence being committed, nor did he catch the accused red-handed, the court said.

“Moreover, there is no seizure memo pertaining to the alleged paper sheet which has been presumed to be an answer key to the question paper, and which is stated to be the only incriminating material against the accused,” the court said. The disclosure memo of the accused was recorded in the manner of a confessional statement and no identifying particulars of the person concerned who allegedly handed over the answer sheet to the accused were mentioned, the court said.

In the application, the investigating officer stated that police custody was necessary to unearth the whole nexus of conspiracy and ascertain its beneficiaries. Counsel for the accused, Advocate Satya Prakash Gautam, stated that the accused was falsely implicated in the present case, and was ready to cooperate in the investigation if released on bail. Vivek Vihar Police Station had registered an FIR against the accused on the basis of the complainant's statement.