High Court slams 'bribe culture', says 'no leniency towards the corrupt'

Allahabad (The Uttam Hindu): The Allahabad High Court has taken a tough stand in the Kanpur case of fraud of lakhs of rupees in the name of getting a fake PhD degree and assistant professor job in the university. The court made very harsh comments while rejecting the petition of the main accused woman to cancel the FIR. Expressing deep concern, the High Court said that a very scary trend is emerging in the society, where the common man has started thinking that anything can be achieved by paying bribe. The court made it clear that such crimes which reflect weak morality cannot go unpunished.

This is how a vicious web of fraud was woven

An FIR regarding this entire fraud was filed at the Swaroop Nagar police station in Kanpur on September 14, 2024. Complainant Tanya Dixit stated in her report that a man named Vikram Singh Sengar visited her home. He often came with his mother, Tripti Singh Sengar, and his friend, Priyanka Singh Sengar (petitioner). Together, they boasted about their high connections within the government, administration, and Kanpur University. When Tanya expressed her desire for a job, they deceived her, promising her a PhD degree without any effort and a permanent position as an assistant professor at the university.

22 lakhs extorted, then handed over fake degree and joining letter

Believing the fraudsters' false assurances and claims of high connections, Tanya transferred a total of 22 lakh 18 thousand rupees to their bank accounts. The accused then duped her and handed her a fake PhD degree and a fake appointment letter from a Kanpur-based university. When the complainant happily arrived at the university for her joining, the registrar, upon seeing the documents, declared them completely fake. Realizing she had been duped, the victim demanded her money back and threatened legal action, but the accused began threatening to kill her and implicate her in serious lawsuits.

'This is a scary trend in society', police ordered to conduct an honest investigation

Priyanka Sengar, an accused in this case, had appealed to the High Court to quash the FIR. Her lawyer argued that the other two accused had already received interim relief from the court. However, a division bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena rejected the petition, noting the gravity of the matter. The court expressed surprise that even an educated woman had fallen prey to this corrupt system. Without due process and hard work, neither a PhD nor a professorship is possible. The court deemed the case inadmissible under Article 226 of the Constitution and issued strict instructions to the concerned officials, including the Kanpur Police Commissioner, to investigate the entire matter with complete honesty and diligence.