The Bombay High Court recently came to the rescue of an engineering student, accused of cheating and forgery by manipulating the answer sheets of the recruitment of armed police personnel in the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF). The HC has allowed him to appear in his semester exams and till then has restrained the police from arresting him. Tejas Nemade – a resident of Pune, was relieved after a vacation bench presided over by Justice Bharati Dangre allowed him to appear for his exams. He had challenged the orders of the Pune sessions court which denied him pre-arrest relief by observing that he ‘do not deserve any sympathy.’ According to the prosecution, Nemade in connivance with a firm manipulated the OMR (Optimal Marking Recognition) sheets of candidates who appeared for the examinations conducted to fill in the posts of armed personnel in the SRPF. The student had manipulated the OMR sheets to suit the candidates for financial considerations. Nemade was accordingly booked by the Wanawadi police station under charges of cheating, forgery and hatching a criminal conspiracy. The police in its FIR claimed that Nemade was one of the prime accused in the case. However, Nemade only sought protection to appear for his semester examinations which commenced from May 5 and would end on May 25. Having heard the limited point, Justice Dangre said, “No doubt, the offence alleged is serious in nature and it is apparent that the entire exercise was carried out with an intention of monetary consideration by hatching conspiracy. Also, a serious role has been attributed to the applicant (Nemade).” “Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and the fact that the applicant is a student and there is no prohibition on the investigating agency to carry out custodial interrogation after the exams are over, it is directed that in the event of arrest, the applicant be released on bail on executing a P.R. Bond of Rs. 25,000. The protection to continue till May 28,” Justice Dangre said in her orders.