UP Scholarship Scam: Allahabad High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To Hygia Educational Group's VP On Medical Grounds

Keeping in view the fact that the medical condition of the applicant had been certified by a panel of expert doctors, the bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi made an order of August 23 granting interim anticipatory bail to the applicant, absolute.

Jafri had moved the High Court after a Sessions Court in Lucknow had rejected his pre-arrest bail plea on August 5 for the reasons that the applicant is a named accused person and it is alleged that he is involved in embezzlement of funds meant for a post-matriculation scholarship.

Hearing his plea on August 23, the High Court passed an order granting interim anticipatory bail to the applicant, pursuant to which, the State has filed a counter affidavit wherein the facts stated regarding the medical condition of the applicant had not been disputed.

In fact, a medical report submitted by the Director, S.G.P.G.I, in furtherance of the Court’s May 30 order stated that the applicant is a post retrieval post-renal transplant patient suffering from autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADKPD) that required bilateral nephrectomy.

Among other things, the report stated that for adequate control of blood sugars, he required diet control, exercise and close observation of his blood sugars. He needed close observation of renal graft function. He must follow lifestyle measures like social distancing, use of masks, maintenance of hygiene etc. to prevent community-acquired and opportunistic infections.

Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the medical condition of the applicant has not been disputed as it has been certified by a panel of expert doctors of SGPGI; that no violation of the condition of interim anticipatory bail granted to the applicant has been pointed out in the counter affidavit, the Court was of the view that interim order of August 23 be made absolute.

In view of the aforesaid circumstances, the interim order was made absolute and the application was allowed in terms of the order above.

The case against Jafri

The case under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B I.P.C was registered on the basis of an F.I.R lodged on 30.07.2023, against 18 persons, including Jafri, who is a member of Oregon Educational Society and Hygia Group, and some unknown persons, alleging that embezzlement of the amount meant for being distributed amongst students as post matriculation scholarship.

On the same allegation, the Directorate of Enforcement had registered a case under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

As per ED's case, three top officials of the Hygia Group of Colleges including the applicant fraudulently obtained scholarship funds to the tune of Rs. 500 Crores from the government using the Aadhaar and bank details of ineligible persons by showing them as students.

As per ED, all three of them, with the help of FINO payment bank agents, also diverted the scholarship funds from the account which belonged to the students to the accounts of Hygia Group of Colleges.

In fact, during the investigation of the case, it came to light that many of the students were not even aware of having availed of any such schemes in their names. In this case, the ED has already arrested two directors of the Educational Group, namely, Izhar Hussain Jafri and Ali Abbas Jafri, besides their employee Ravi Prakash Gupta.

ED has interrogated more than 50 students and recorded their statements. The ED has alleged that the College of Management of Education of Hygia Group was operational only on the website.

Appearances

Counsel for Applicant: Senior Advocate SC Mishra assisted by Advocates Farooq Khan, Manish Kumar Tripathi and Mohd. Yasir Abbasi

Counsel for Opposite Party: AGA Jayant Singh Tomar

Case title - Syed Ishrat Hussain Jafri vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home, Civil Sectt. Lko. 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 352 [CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 Cr.P.C. No. 1861 of 2023]

Citaiton: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 352

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