Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has adjourned till November 10 the hearing on a petition filed by the vice-chancellor of Kanpur's Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University challenging the FIR lodged against him on charges of corruption and extortion.
The Lucknow bench of the high court was scheduled to deliver its order on Thursday but postponed the matter after the counsel for Vice-Chancellor Vinay Pathak sought some time to file a supplementary affidavit.
Considering the request, a division bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Justice V K Singh adjourned the matter till November 10.
It also permitted the Uttar Pradesh government to file counter to the supplementary affidavit to be filed by Pathak.
The state government had earlier opposed the petition filed by the vice-chancellor challenging the FIR lodged against him.
On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) registered the FIR against Pathak and Ajay Mishra, the owner of XLICT company, on charges of corruption and extortion and began its probe.
The FIR was registered at Indira Nagar police station under IPC sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 386 (extortion), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed on October 29 by David Mario Denis of Digitex Technologic India Private Limited alleging that he had paid about Rs 1.31 crore to Pathak via Mishra for the clearance of payment to his company, which was engaged in pre- and post-examination work at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra where Pathak was officiating vice-chancellor from January to September this year.
Mishra, whose firm is also involved in the same work, was arrested on Sunday.
Denis also alleged that the vice-chancellor demanded a 15 per cent commission, threatened him, and stopped his firm from getting contracts in other universities using his contacts.
