Telangana High Court upholds reconduct of Group I examination

Telangana had moved an appeal against the order stating that lakhs of aspirants would be put to disadvantage for the baseless apprehensions of a few petitioners

Hyderabad: The division bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Justice J Anil Kumar on Wednesday confirmed the single judge order which directed reconducting of the Group I examination.

The State had moved an appeal against the order stating that lakhs of aspirants would be put to disadvantage for the baseless apprehensions of a few petitioners. Not implementing biometrics does not establish any chance of impersonation or malpractices, the State said.

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Even the OMR sheets had a barcode to properly verify credentials of the candidates, the State said. However, hearing the rival submissions made by both the parties, the court came to a conclusion that when the notification and web note prescribed a process and procedure, the same could not be violated. Accordingly, the bench dismissed the appeal filed by the State government.

‘Detention by NIA illegal’

The division bench comprising Justice K Lakshman and Justice K Sujana held illegal the detention of Dubashi Devender by the National Investigation Agency.

“The NIA being a premier investigation agency is expected to follow the procedure laid down under law,” the court held. It is the case of the petitioner that her husband was illegally detained by the NIA from Siddipet while he was attending his examinations at the government college in Siddipet town. Receiving information that her husband was kept at Mulugu police station and that arrangements were made to take him to Chhattisgarh, she moved a habeas corpus petition and apprehended that there were chances of the police killing her husband. She also told the court that she had a six-month-old child and they were dependent on the detenue.

Representing the NIA, Deputy Solicitor General of India Gadi Praveen Kumar told the court that the detenue was taken into custody legally by serving a 41-A notice in a 2019 case booked at Nagarnar police station in Bastar of Chhattisgarh. The NIA said the detenue had acted as a courier between the banned CPI (Maoist) Party and related frontal organisations in the State. It also said that as he was presently lodged in Jagdalpur Jail, the remand had to be challenged and sought dismissal of the habeas plea.

However, as pointed out by the petitioner’s counsel M Venkanna, the bench observed various lacunas and discrepancies in the arrest procedure followed by the NIA including- not communicating arrest to family or relatives; not providing any proof of serving 41 A notice; and not explaining the delay of more than 2 years in arresting detenue after registration of crime. Serving of 41 A notice in offences involving punishment of 10 years was pointed out. Inconsistency in the version of the NIA on the place of arrest was noted, that while Arrest Memo showed place of arrest is at Pattabhipuram, Guntur District, 41-A notice showed it as NIA Camp Office, Police Head Quarters, Mangalagiri, Vijayawada. The petitioner had placed the attendance record of the exam at government college, Siddipet on June 16, 17 and 18 and asserted detention of the petitioner from exam hall at Siddipet.

Accordingly, the bench held the detention illegal and directed his release. The bench granted liberty to the NIA to conduct investigation strictly in accordance with law while disposing the case.