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U’khand fake testing: Firms get temporary relief

ByHT Correspondents, Hindustan Times, Dehradun/new Delhi
Jun 24, 2021 01:42 AM IST

The court directed representatives from Max Corporate Services, a Noida-based private agency, to appear before an investigating officer on Friday and cooperate in the ongoing probe into alleged fake Covid testing during the Mahakumbh.

The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday granted temporary protection from arbitrary arrest to the owners of two private firms under investigation for allegedly conducting 100,000 fake tests during the Mahakumbh but dismissed their petitions to quash an FIR against them in the high-profile case.

Allegations of fake testing surfaced at the Kumbh last week after a Faridkot resident complained to the authorities that he received a message for collecting his Covid-19 report despite never having been tested.(AFP | Representational image)

The court directed representatives from Max Corporate Services, a Noida-based private agency that bagged the contract to carry out Covid tests during the holy event, to appear before an investigating officer on Friday and cooperate in the ongoing probe into alleged fake Covid testing during the Mahakumbh.

Justice NS Dhanik, who heard both petitions, also granted temporary protection from arbitrary arrest to Max Corporate Services and Hisar-based Nalwa Labs.

“In view of the judgment rendered by hon’ble apex court in Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar ...the petitioner should be arrested only when the investigating officer has reason to believe on the basis of information and material collected, that he has committed an offence,” said the order.

The 2014 Arnesh Kumar judgment required the police to conduct a preliminary probe before making arrests where offences were punishable with imprisonment for less than seven years. Under these guidelines, a police officer has to record reasons for an arrest in writing and it can be done only if it fulfils certain conditions.

Allegations of fake testing surfaced at the Kumbh last week after a Faridkot resident complained to the authorities that he received a message for collecting his Covid-19 report despite never having been tested. The complaint triggered a probe that unearthed roughly 100,000 fake rapid antigen tests.

Three firms – Lalchandani Lab, Nalwa Lab and Noida-based private agency Max Corporate Services – were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code, disaster management act and epidemic diseases act last week. Days later, all three firms approached the high court separately to quash the FIR.

At present, three separate probes are looking at the allegations: one by the police, one by the district administration and one by the mela administration.

In court, both Max Corporate Services and Nalwa Labs said they were ready to cooperate with the probe. Kartikeya Hari Gupta, who represented Max Corporate service partner Mallika Pant, informed the court that she was ready and willing to join the investigation, comply with the court’s order and appear before the investigating officer on Friday.

“We are humbled and grateful to the court to uphold our client’s right to appear freely before the SIT inquiry and co-operate. We have written to the Investigation Officer and shall be sharing all documents with the investigating team. My clients are victims of another’s wrong and justice shall prevail,” said Apoorva Agarwal, legal representative for Max.

Parikshit Saini, counsel for Nalwa labs and its owner Navtej Nalwa, said they were ready to cooperate with the probe and had already appeared before the investigators in person.

A third petition, by Delhi-based Lalchandani Labs, is likely to be heard on Thursday.

On June 18, Max Corporate Services filed a writ petition, demanding quashing of FIR against it and stay on arrest. The agency said that it was a service provider and didn’t have the expertise or clearance to carry out tests, which was done by the two labs.

In its petition, Nalwa labs claimed that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Max on March 10 but neither received any payments nor sent any technicians to conduct tests at the Kumbh. Max rejected the allegations.

Lalchandani Labs told the high court that it signed a MoU with Max on March 10 and conducted only 12,000 rapid tests between April 1 and 26.

The Kumbh mela was curtailed this year but devotees thronged Haridwar for months despite experts saying the crowds and rampant violation of Covid protocol could spark a surge in infections. Roughly 9.1 million pilgrims took the holy dip in the Ganga from January 14 to April 27. The bulk of this -- at least six million people -- congregated in April, coinciding with the worst surge in the second wave of the pandemic.

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