Mumbai: Woman who tried to cheat college in 1999, let off by magistrate in Vikhroli with admonition

A magistrate in Vikhroli who found a woman guilty of cheating her college 23 years ago in 1999, by submitting forged marksheets to show herself eligible to appear for her third-year B. Com examination, showed her leniency and let her off by admonition considering that she is a first-time offender.

The woman had tendered forged FY BCom and SY BCom marksheets as she had failed in three subjects in the first years and two in the second, making her ineligible to appear for the TY BCom examination. She had thereafter paid two persons Rs. 20,000 and got forged marksheets of FY BCom and SY BCom of TES College and Arts and Commerce, Ambernath where she was shown passed. She also submitted forged Transfer Certificate and No Objection Certificate from this college.

The matter came to light when head clerk Arun Adsul who was checking the marksheets on the instructions of the then principal of Somaiya college Krishnamurthi Venkatramani noticed something suspicious. In the title of the marksheet, it was ‘University of Bombay’ instead of ‘University of Mumbai’. He found the spelling of ‘University’ also incorrect as ‘University’.

Principal Venkatramani had then called the student along with her father to his office. There she had admitted to her misdeeds and written a confession addressed to him. The principal refused to let her appear for the examination and then sent her letter and the forged marksheets to Tilak Nagar police station for investigation and action.

During the trial, principal Venkatramani, the head clerk of Somaiya College, Ambernath Dilip Moharir, the then principal of TES college and a handwriting expert had testified before the court. The expert had proved that it was indeed her handwriting on the letter of confession she wrote to the principal. It was treated as an extra-judicial confession by the court. The principal of the Ambernath college testified that she had never been a student at the college. The court found her guilty of cheating Somaiya college. “It cannot be ignored that for gaining admission to TY BCom class in the academic year 1998-1999, the accused had deceived the administration of SK Somaiya College…and thereby she cheated the said college.”

Her advocate had sought leniency as she has two small daughters and is a first-time offender. Metropolitan Magistrate Sharad S. Pardeshi noted that the offences are punishable by not more than two years imprisonment or with fine. It considered that she has no criminal antecedents and said it is a fit case to extend the benefit of Probation of Offenders Act. It said instead of sentencing her, she shall be released on admonition.