IPS Officer Amrit Paul Granted Bail in Karnataka Police Recruitment Scandal: A Deep Dive into the Allegations and Court’s Decision
The Karnataka High Court has granted bail to IPS Officer Amrit Paul, who was arrested over his alleged involvement in a scam related to the recruitment of police sub-inspectors for the State Police. Justice Mohammad Nawaz, presiding over the case, granted bail to Paul, who has been in custody since July 4, 2022. The bail was granted on the execution of a personal bond of Rs 5,00,000, with two sureties of a similar amount.
The court’s decision was based on the observation:
“Merely because the petitioner was working as ADGP, Recruitment Wing, it cannot be concluded at this stage that alleged offence is committed at his instruction or in other words, he has conspired to commit the offence. Hence, he cannot be detained in custody till the conclusion of the trial, considering the number of witnesses cited in the charge sheet.”
The prosecution’s case revolved around a notification issued by the Government of Karnataka on January 21, 2021, inviting applications for 545 PSI vacancies in the Police Department. It was alleged that the accused, in a bid to earn money illegally, instructed certain candidates to answer only a few questions, leaving the rest blank. These blank spaces were later allegedly filled by the accused, leading to the fraudulent selection of ineligible candidates for the PSI post.
Paul, who served as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for the Recruitment Wing, was accused of conspiring with other officers to tamper with the original OMR answer sheets of certain candidates. The prosecution claimed that Paul, being the head of the recruitment process, was responsible for the safe custody of the keys to the kit boxes containing the OMR sheets. It was alleged that on October 5, 2021, under Paul’s instruction, the CCTV in the office was turned off, allowing the OMR sheets to be tampered with, leading to the illegal collection of over Rs.5 crores.
Refuting these allegations, the defense argued that the claims of Paul demanding Rs.5 crores were baseless and lacked evidence. They emphasized that Paul was not the sole custodian of the keys and that the entire case against him was based on circumstantial evidence.
The court, in its findings, stated,
“The material on record reveals that the petitioner was not the only custodian of the key and CW-81 was admittedly having another set of keys of the almirah where the keys of the kit boxes carrying the OMR sheets were kept. It was contended by the learned Senior Counsel that the possibility of CW-81 misusing the said keys is not ruled out.”
The court further noted that there was no concrete evidence to show that Paul had instructed other accused persons to tamper with the OMR sheets.
Consequently, the court granted bail to Paul with specific conditions. He is prohibited from making any inducements, threats, or promises to any person familiar with the case facts. He must not tamper with the prosecution witnesses, influence, or intimidate any of the Investigating Officers. Paul is also required to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and is restricted from traveling outside India without the jurisdictional court’s prior permission.
The case has drawn significant attention, shedding light on the complexities of recruitment processes and the alleged malpractices within.