Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Apr 30: The Karnataka High Court has delivered a significant order, quashing the case filed against Dr. Madhukar G Angur, the former Chancellor of Alliance University.
Dr Angur was facing allegations of misusing the university's nomenclature, seals, intellectual property, and making false claims of still being the Chancellor.
In its order, the High Court bench stated: “If the facts obtaining in the case at hand, the complaint and summary of the charge sheet are noticed, the complaint is registered to wreak vengeance against the petitioner in a seemingly civil dispute, rendering it a colour of crime. In such circumstances, this Court should step into exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. and obliterate the crime, failing which, it would become an abuse of the process of law and result in miscarriage of justice.”
Consequently, the bench pronounced: “Proceedings in C.C.No.3218 of 2021 pending before I Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru, arising out of crime in Crime No.60 of 2016 of Cyber Crime Police Station, Bangalore, stand quashed.”
The court also noted in its order: “Deepika Kalia, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State, competently argued the matter and vehemently tried to persuade this Court not to intervene. She even sought time to produce further documents. However, the charge-sheet speaks for itself and there could be no question of improvement of the charge-sheet read with the FIR, either by adducing documents or by filing affidavit or by making oral submissions.”
The order further detailed the background of the dispute: “The petitioner is the Ex-Chancellor of Alliance University. It appears that huge dispute arose between the members of the Board of Directors of Alliance University. Owing to certain financial irregularities, embezzlement of funds and other allied misgivings, the petitioner was terminated from the post of Chancellor by the Board of Directors of the sponsoring body - Alliance Business School. After the termination, comes the impugned complaint on June 15, 2016.”
Madhukar Angur had filed a petition challenging the case against the State, represented by the Dy SP, Cyber Crime, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and Abhay Chebbi of Alliance Business School.
The criminal petition sought the quashing of the chargesheet filed by the police. The court had previously reserved the matter for orders and delivered its decision on April 22nd. Senior counsel Kiran Javali represented the petitioner, while Additional State Public Prosecutor B.N. Jagadeesha and senior counsel Shyam Sundar appeared for the respondents.