Court accepts Class 12 ‘topper’ as minor in exam cheating case

Patna: A district court here today accepted that the controversial Humanities 'topper' in the Bihar Intermediate Examination, who has been arrested in connection with an examination cheating racket, is a minor. Special Vigilance court judge Raghvendra Kumar Singh accepted that the girl is a minor on the basis of her matriculation certificate which mentioned her date of birth as November 15, 1998, paving the way for her shifting from Beur model jail to a remand home. The girl along with the Science stream topper had come into limelight after they gave ridiculous answers to questions on their subjects in a video which went viral, prompting an inquiry. She was arrested by Special Investigation Team (SIT) as she emerged from a re-test of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) on June 25 and sent to Beur jail. But, as per her matriculation certificate she is 17 years, 3 months and nine days old and cannot be sent to jail. Former member of the Juvenile Justice Board K D Mishra, who appeared in the court in favour of the girl, presented her matriculation certificate to claim that she is a minor. The lawyer of the Bihar School Examination Board also did not oppose the matriculation certificate of the girl in the court today. With the court accepting her as a minor, it meant that she would be shifted to a remand home from Beur model jail of Patna. The girl, from the controversial Bishun Roy college of Vaishali district, was taken into custody by Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the basis of arrest warrant issued by a Patna district court against her and three other rank-holders in the examination racket case.