Shillong, Sep 4: The Meghalaya High Court has said that documents, records and evidence presented by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the 2008 education scam were weak.
The single bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji said, “In this case, the prosecution has failed to establish even a prima facie case from where a reasonable suspicion may arise in the prosecutor or the court of interpolation of the score sheets by the accused or any of them. The case or charges against each of them falls to the ground.”
In the verdict, the court said that CBI did not submit any documents regarding erasing of marks of the assistant teachers by Ampareen Lyngdoh.
“No documents showing interpolation or any application of white ink for erasing the marks are on records,” the High Court said.
Pointing out that the first FIR was lodged on July, 18 2011 the court said nothing has moved significantly in prosecuting the accused as only 28 out of 181 witnesses have been examined.
The court said at the rate where the examination of witnesses was going it might take up the entirety of the remaining life of the accused. “Such enormous delay in prosecuting a criminal case is also against the fundamental rights of the accused under Articles 21, 19 and 14 to lead a peaceful life free of mental anxiety caused by pendency of a criminal proceeding,” it said.
“Therefore, exercising power under Section 227 of the Code read with Section 482, especially the part which deals with the power of the court to prevent abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice, I set aside the impugned order dated 23rd August, 2022 passed in Special (CBI) Case No. 2 of 2020 by the learned Special Judge (CBI), East Khasi Hills district, Shillong. The charges against the accused A1, A2 and A3 are quashed. The entire criminal proceedings are hereby quashed. Each of the accused 1, 2 and 3 are hereby discharged,” the judgement said.
