Mumbai court discharges ex-vice principal of law college in forged degree case
Mumbai (PTI): A Mumbai court has discharged the former woman vice principal of a law college here in a 2007 case about the alleged use of a forged BA degree to get admission in the institution, noting there is no material to remotely suggest she tampered with the document.
The charge-sheet against the accused advocate is filed with the "presumption" that she prepared a false document. There is no sufficient evidence to frame the charges against her, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Esplanade court) Vinod Ramrao Patil said in the judgment on February 9.
The prosecution alleged that Chitra Salunkhe used a forged Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree while taking admission in the LLB and LLM courses in Siddharth Law College.
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Salunkhe, then being the college's vice principal, submitted a false and forged certificate to get admission. She did not pass the BA examination and hence committed cheating and forgery, the police charged.
The case had led to her termination as vice-principal of the college.
Salunkhe, through her lawyer, contended that the allegations against her were groundless. Some high-ranked police officers falsely implicated her in the crime, she submitted.
The defence also highlighted a report by a former DGP, which suggested Salunkhe had been harassed and prosecuted over the years by colleagues based on her gender and caste.
The court noted that the investigation officer failed to produce or seize the alleged forged degree certificate.
"There is no material on record to remotely suggest that the accused has tampered the document," it said.
The charge-sheet against the accused is filed "with the presumption that the accused prepared a false document", the court observed.
"It is settled law that while dealing with the discharge application, when the two views are equally possible and the judge is satisfied that evidence adduced before him giving rise to some suspicion but not grave suspicion against the accused, he will be fully within his right to discharge the accused," the magistrate said.
While accepting the discharge plea, the court also pointed out that the charges against the accused were not proved in the departmental inquiry.
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'I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus': Raghav Chadha rubbishes AAP's allegations
New Delhi (PTI): "I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday as he rejected allegations levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them "false" and part of a "coordinated campaign".
In a video, Chadha dismissed claims that he did not join opposition walkouts, terming the charge a "blatant lie".
He challenged his detractors to cite even a single instance where he failed to participate and said parliamentary proceedings are recorded through CCTV cameras.
Refuting another allegation that he refused to sign a motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, either formally or informally, to sign it. He added that several other MPs from his party had also not signed the motion.
The MP said his focus in Parliament has been on raising public issues such as GST, income tax, air pollution in Delhi, water concerns in Punjab, public healthcare, education, railway passenger issues, menstrual health, unemployment and inflation.
Chadha said that he goes to Parliament to "create impact not ruckus" as it runs on taxpayers' money and it is his responsibility to highlight their concerns. "Every lie will be exposed," he said.
