61-year-old gets 5 years jail for forging certificates to secure MBBS seats under Puducherry quota

Puducherry: A Puducherry court has sentenced a 61-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for forging nativity, nationality, caste, and birth certificates of his wards to secure MBBS admission through the Puducherry residents' quota in 2004 via the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC).

The fraud was detected during document scrutiny by CENTAC, following which a police case was registered for cheating and forgery.

While the court convicted the father and imposed a total fine of Rs 11,000, it acquitted his son, daughter, and another accused due to lack of evidence. Three other accused in the case died during the course of the trial.

According to the TOI report, the Puducherry chief judicial magistrate E M K Yashwanthrao Ingersol has sentenced a 61-year-old man to undergo five years of rigorous imprisonment for forging certificates of his son and daughter to get them MBBS admission in a state -based college through the Centac counselling.

The CJM acquitted three others, including his son and daughter, as the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them. Three others booked in the case died during the course of trial.

According to assistant public prosecutor S Lokkeshvaran, a farmer from Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, forged nativity, nationality, caste and birth certificates of his son and daughter and applied for their admission into the MBBS programme in 2004 under the Puducherry residents’ quota through Centac. The Centac scrutinised the certificates and found them to be forged, adds TOI

The then Centac convenor, Y L N Reddy, lodged a complaint with Orleanpet police.

Police booked the man, his four friends, brokers and his son and daughter under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code and began inquiries. His three friends died during the trial.

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In the judgment pronounced recently, the court sentenced the man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for cheating, five years of rigorous imprisonment for forgery, and one year of rigorous imprisonment for using the forged document. He imposed penalties totalling Rs 11,000. All the sentences will run concurrently. The CJM, however, acquitted his friend 38, his son and his daughter, adds TOI