NEW DELHI: Widening the ambit of Prevention of Corruption Act, the Supreme Court ruled that even deemed universities will come under the purview of anti-corruption law and that trustees of the Trusts running these universities could be prosecuted as public servants for their corrupt acts."Corruption is the malignant manifestation of a malady menacing the morality of men. There is a common perception that corruption in India has spread to all corners of public life and is currently choking the constitutional aspirations enshrined in the Preamble. In this context, this case revolves around requiring this Court to facilitate making India corruption free," said a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana while giving this ruling.The bench, also comprising Justice M M Shantanagoudar, was deciding a corruption case relating to a trustee of Sumandeep Charitable Trust, which runs a deemed university 'Sumandeep Vidyapeeth' in Gujarat. Prosecution alleged that the institution demanded an additional Rs 25 lakh to allow a complainant's daughter to appear in final MBBS examination, despite entire annual fee having been already paid up.The institution agreed to accept a cheque for the amount in lieu of promise to pay the amount in cash later. On complaint, the police set up audio and video camera trap. After catching the conduit, the police raided the institution and found several undated cheques drawn in the name of the institution worth over Rs 100 crore. The Gujarat police registered a case under PC Act arraying the trustee as an accused as he was described by arrested persons as the one who demanded illegal donations.Setting aside the Gujarat HC order discharging the trustee on the ground that deemed university did not come under the ambit of PC Act, the SC took a broader view of the term 'public servant' to count deemed university as a public institution and its functionaries, including the trustees, as public servants.Justice Ramana, writing the judgment for the bench, said, "There is no gainsaying that nations are built upon trust. In a democracy one needs to rely on those with power and influence and to trust them of being transparent and fair. There is no doubt that any action which is driven by self­ interest of these powerful individuals, rather than public interest, destroys that trust.""Where this becomes the norm, democracy, the economy and the rule of law, all take a beating, ultimately putting the whole nation at risk. Corrupt societies often spring from the examples set at the highest levels of government, but small­scale corruption can be equally insidious. In this regard, the PC Act was formulated to bring about transparency and honesty in public life, as indicated by its objects and reasons. We need to keep the aforesaid legislative intention in mind while interpreting the provisions of the PC Act," the bench said giving wider meaning to the PC Act provision."There is no dispute that corruption in India is pervasive. Its impact on the nation is more pronounced, due to the fact that India is still a developing economy. Presently, it can be stated that corruption in India has become an issue which affects all walks of life. In this context, we must state that although anti­corruption laws are fairly stringent in India, the percolation and enforcement of the same are sometimes criticized as being ineffective. Due to this, the constitutional aspirations of economic and social justice are sacrificed on a daily basis. It is in the above context that we need to resolve the issues concerned herein," the SC said.The SC said that education sector has become riddled with corruption."In this context, we need to understand whether a deemed university would be covered within the ambit of the Section 2(c)(xi) of the PC Act," it said while setting aside the HC order discharging the trustee from the corruption case. It asked the trial court to proceed with the trial expeditiously.