PhD student cleared of graft charges

A Delhi University PhD student has been let off by a city court on the ground that he was not a public servant. The student had been accused of demanding bribe from a BA student after allegedly catching him with copying material.

A Delhi University PhD student has been let off by a city court on the ground that he was not a public servant. The student had been accused of demanding bribe from a BA student after allegedly catching him with copying material.

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Special Judge BR Kedia, while absolving Research Scholar Ajit Singh, doing his PhD in Buddhist Studies, also said the prosecution could not prove that the accused had demanded money from Avanish Malik.

"Ajit Singh was merely a research scholar... and was not even an employee of DU when acting as an invigilator," said the judge.

Singh had been booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, by the Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch.

Malik had alleged that he had gone to appear in an English exam at Khalsa School, Moti Nagar.

Minutes before the exam, students were searched by invigilators including Singh, who had allegedly taken Malik to another room, claiming he had found copying material from his possession and demanded R7,000 for not reporting the matter to authorities.