Deemed varsities under ambit of anti-graft law: SC
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New Delhi: In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court said that bribery and corruption in a deemed university can be tried under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Whoever comes under the definition of a ‘public servant’, be it individuals, authorities or officials connected to a deemed university, can be tried and punished under the anti-corruption law.
Deemed universities come within the ambit of the term ‘university’ in Section 2©(xi) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. A deemed institution under the University Grants Commission Act of 1956 has the same common public duty like a university to confer academic degrees, which are recognized in the society.
Officials of a deemed varsity, though not seen as public servants in the conventional sense, perform duties in the discharge of which the State, the public and the community at large has an interest, a three-judge Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana said.