USTM Chancellor Gets Interim Bail in Fraud Case
The Gauhati High Court has granted interim bail to Mahbubul Hoque, the founder chancellor of the University of Science and Technology (USTM), in a fraud case. Justice Mitali Thakuria issued the order, ruling that the ends of justice did not justify curtailing Hoque’s liberty in the instant case, given the facts.
Hoque, who was arrested on February 22, 2025, had been in judicial custody since then. He was granted interim bail on furnishing a surety of Rs. 50,000, with a surety of a like amount. The bail application was filed under Section 483 of the Boroland Autonomous System (BNS), 2023.
According to the case, Hoque, along with some others, was arrested based on certain allegations and forwarded to judicial custody. Senior counsel for the petitioner argued that before lodging the present FIR, the authorities concerned had lodged two FIRs for the same cause of action, which were registered as Patharkandi PS Case No. 54/2025 and Patharkandi PS Case No. 55/2025. The main accusation was that some students who had appeared for the Class 12th Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Physics Exam at Central Public School (CPS), Patharkandi, were involved in a fraud case.
In the FIR lodged at Patharkandi PS, it is alleged that 15 students from Adarsha Bidyalaya, Patharkandi, and 45 students from CPS, Patharkandi, and 214 students who were enrolled as students of CPS, Patharkandi, but never attended classes at CPS, Patharkandi, and instead attended classes at Vision-50, a special coaching program under the USTM, created a law and order situation by not receiving the assistance promised at the time of admission. Some of these students were unaware that they were enrolled in CPS, Patharkandi, instead of Vision-50, USTM, and some students had paid Rs. 5,00,000 to USTM to pass the examination.
The counsel for the petitioner argued that the law and order situation was created by these 214 students, who were allegedly wronged by USTM. Mahbubul Hoque, along with other authorities, was accused of breaching the trust of the students. The court observed that the petitioner has made out a strong case for the grant of bail, but for abundant caution, it was felt just and proper to go through the case diary.
The matter is next listed for production of the case diary on April 9, 2025. The court’s decision to grant Hoque interim bail comes as a significant development in the case. The high court’s order in this case has set a new precedent, and it will be interesting to see how it impacts ongoing investigations and future bail applications in similar cases.
Original Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/assam-gauhati-high-court-grants-interim-bail-to-ustm-chancellor-mahbubul-hoque
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Publish Date: 2025-03-25 09:12:00
