HC declines to quash charge sheet against college chiefs

Two heads of an engineering college in Tamil Nadu are in trouble with the Madras High Court rejecting their plea to quash a charge sheet filed against them for allegedly conspiring and cheating to gain approval for their college in Kanyakumari.
The charge sheet was filed against B G Shanmugeswara and C Thayarappan by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The CBI alleged that the duo cheated the AICTE to get initial approval for Sun College of Engineering and Technology at Erachakulam in Kanyakumari, for 40 students in each branch, for academic years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, though expert committees objected to granting recognition to the college.

The petitioners had challenged the charge sheet filed by CBI in 2011 and sought to quash it on the grounds including delay in registering the FIR.
Justice R S Ramanathan of the Madurai bench, dismissing the petitions, said "the allegations made in the charge sheet and the statement given by the witnesses during investigation are sufficient to make out prima facie against the petitioners".
The Judge also said CBI court alone should decide if the allegations were true and CBI should prove their case there.

"The court cannot go into detail of the veracities of the statements given by witnesses or to conduct detailed inquiry into statement made by witnesses to arrive at a conclusion that there is no basis against petitioners," the Judge said.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau had conducted raids in four Tamil Nadu engineering colleges, including Sun College, in 2009 following information that they were running without adequate infrastructure and manpower.
Sangameshwara, a former adviser of All India Council for Technical Education, was now Principal of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore, while Thayarappan Chairman of the Sun College of Engineering and Technology at Erachakulam.