india

Updated: Oct 18, 2019 00:43 IST

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday granted bail to a medical student accused of hiring an impersonator to write the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on his behalf. But the court rejected the bail plea of his father who was also arrested in the case.

The student who was granted bail was the first one to be arrested by the police along with his father in the September for allegedly hiring an impersonator to write NEET exam.

When the bail petition came up before justice GR Swaminathan, the Judge granted the bail to the student of Theni Government Medical College, considering his age.

The Court said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) records indicate that the impersonator had written the exam for the student in Mumbai and also for himself in Chennai.

However, the judge denied bail to the student’s father, Venkatesan. “It seems Venkatesan was influenced by Tamil Movie’ Vasool Raja MBBS’ and he hired an impersonator for his son,” the judge said at the hearings for bail.

In the 2004 film Vasool Raja MBBS, actor Kamal Haasan played the protagonist who hires a comedian to clear entrance examination to get admission into a medical college.

“The identity of impersonator and modus of operandi are unknown. Also, the NEET impersonation case’s inquiry is at a critical stage. So, the court cannot grant bail to Venkatesan,” the judge said.

The judge also said that the medico’s plea could be seen with a different perspective as his father was the one who planned the plot to hire impersonator.

“After considering the student’s age and future, the court grants bail to the student on the condition that he should appear before the CB-CID Madurai office every day by 10.30 am,” the judge ordered.

On Wednesday Madras high court judges justice N Kirubakaran and justice P Velmurugan suo motu asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to share with the CB-CID police, which is inquiring the case, the thumb impressions of 4250 students who got medical admissions in Tamil Nadu.

The judges restrained media from using the names of students who are being questioned by the CB-CID in connection with this case. The high court also asked why a CBI inquiry should not be ordered in the case and the federal agency as a respondent citing its suspicion that the NEET impersonation could be a countrywide ramification.

The NEET impersonation scam came to light after one Ashok Krishnan sent two mails to Theni Government Medical College Dean stating that a student had used an impersonator in the test.

After the opposition parties took up the issue, the state government transferred the case to state police’s CB-CID wing. The CB-CID arrested the student, along with his father who is a doctor.

On Wednesday, the CB-CID informed the court it had arrested four students and two of their associates in this case.