Supreme Court stays SIT probe against Congress MLA Arif Masood in forgery case

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the operation of a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had directed registration of a first information report (FIR) and constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) against Congress MLA Arif Masood in connection with a forgery case [Indira Priyadarshani College Bhopal vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.].

The High Court had ordered FIR and probe into alleged forged solvency certificates submitted by Indira Priyadarshini College, Bhopal. Masood is the Secretary of the society running the college.

A Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi of the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on the appeal filed by the college and ordered that all directions contained in paragraph 13 of the High Court’s August 18 order would remain stayed until further consideration.

The controversy stemmed from an enquiry into solvency certificates furnished by the college in 2004–2005 for securing recognition. Though the High Court stayed the State government’s 9 June order de-recognising the institution, it went further and ordered coercive measures against Masood, the college’s secretary.

The High Court observed that Masood ought to have faced action long ago for submitting fabricated documents.

“The Secretary of the petitioner society should have been jailed in the year 2004 itself for having placed a fabricated document for the purpose of solvency and having received affiliation for his college on the basis of that document,” the High Court said.

It further criticised the State authorities for allowing the college to continue, remarking that the leniency shown appeared questionable.

“The State was outrageously magnanimous to condone his crime and give another opportunity to him to place another document to establish solvency, ‘preferably genuine’ this time round (sarcasm intended),” the High Court order further stated.

The High Court also hinted that Masood’s political clout had shielded him from accountability.

“Prima facie, it appears that the Secretary of the society was a blue-eyed boy of the dispensation that existed before 2024. The party in power in the State has been the same for more than two decades. However, the captain of the ship changed in the year 2023, when the woes of the petitioner college commenced from 2024."

In its operative portion, the High Court directed that criminal proceedings be initiated against Masood.

It further requested the Director General of Police of MP to constitute an SIT to monitor the investigation and ensure filing of a final report within three months.

This prompted the college to move the Supreme Court.

The college told the Supreme Court that the High Court acted beyond the scope of the writ petition, as the FIR and SIT orders were neither sought nor connected to the relief prayed for. It argued that the solvency records, forming the basis of the allegations, had been destroyed under the prescribed retention policy and that a criminal investigation would be futile.

The Supreme Court eventually stayed the directions of the High Court against Masood while keeping alive the issue of de-recognition of the college, which continues to be monitored by the High Court.

Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Vivek Tankha appeared for the college.

The petition was filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi.