Kasaragod: The Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class - II in Hosdurg on Saturday granted bail to SFI leader K Vidya, facing allegations of forging experience certificates to get a job as a guest lecturer in government colleges.
She is facing charges of cheating, forgery, and forgery for cheating at Nileshwar police station in Kasaragod and Agali Police Station in Palakkad, after she allegedly submitted forged teaching experience certificates at Government Arts and Science College at Kasaragod's Karinthalam in 2022, and Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Government College at Palakkad's Attapadi this year.
The Hosdurg court in Kanhangad granted bail to Vidya in the Nileshwar case on the condition that she would appear before the investigating officer on Wednesday and Saturday every week.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Vidya said the bail was the culmination of a month-long witch-hunting of her and her family by the media.
Contrary to what Nileshwar police said, her lawyer Sebin Sebastian, representing Vidya in both cases, said she was pleading not guilty. "This is a politically motivated case and we will prove her innocence in court during the trial," he said.
He said Agali police and Nileshwar police arrested her violating the guidelines set by the Supreme Court to satisfy the media.
When Agali Police arrested her in Kozhikode, she was not even served a notice under Section 41 A of the CrPC to appear before them, said Sebastian.
A Mannarkkad court granted her bail in the Agali case, he said.
Vidya did not take questions from reporters saying she was not in the mental state for that.
She had allegedly submitted two experience certificates to Government Arts and Science College at Kasaragod's Karinthalam, saying she was a Malayalam guest lecturer at Kochi's Maharaja’s College in 2018-2019 and 2020-2021.
Based on the experience certificates, she got the job and taught in the college from June 2022 to March 2023.
Later, Vidya allegedly submitted the same forged experience certificates from Maharaja's College at Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Government College at Palakkad's Attapadi this year. But the Attappadi college sent the certificates for verification and Maharaja's College wrote back saying they were forged. To be sure, Maharaja's College had not hired a guest lecturer for the past 10 years. Maharaja's College then filed a case of forgery at Kochi Central Police Station. The case was transferred to Agali station.
