‘Quacks can’t get away by paying compensation’

Justice P N Prakash, while directing the Central Crime Branch to conduct the investigation expeditiously, said, “Since each of the FIRs discloses commission of fraud and cheating, the same cannot be quashed in the light of the law laid by the Supreme Court that those not qualified or registered with the State Medical Council cannot be permitted to practise either modern medicine or any other medicine.”

Vijayakumar, who had moved the court seeking to quash the FIRs against him, had appeared in a popular TV programme and claimed that he had extraordinary powers to cure all diseases. Being swayed by his words, the complainants in all these cases, had approached him and allegedly paid huge sums of money for curing their ailments. In this venture, his daughter and son-in-law also had joined him and fleeced innocent victims in the name of giving them treatment. 

Later, when the victims realised that they were being taken for a ride, on the complaint of one of them, an FIR was registered and Vijayakumar was arrested. When the news of his arrest got flashed in the media, complaints started pouring in from various quarters and the police had to register individual FIRs. In one of the cases, Vijayakumar is said to have as told that he was a representative of goddess Meenakshi of Madurai and has been blessed with magical powers to cure diseases. Vijayakumar through his counsel had submitted that he is a qualified Siddha doctor and that he cannot be prosecuted for an offence under the Medical Council of India Act for he did not practise Allopathy. He also contended that he had even returned money to the de facto complainants and so prosecutions against him and the co-accused have to be quashed.

The High Court has upheld the order of the Principal Sessions Judge in Puducherry cancelling bail to an accused, held for manufacture and sale of fake lottery tickets of other states.

The court also directed the registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice to decide on ordering vigilance enquiry into the manner in which all the accused in this case were granted bail by the in-charge woman magistrate. As per the prosecution, in a fake lottery ticket scam, Ravikmar and two others were arrested by the Puducherry police. 

Ravikumar was produced before Judicial Magistrate No I (JM I) and remanded to custody on July 7, 2016. Following this, he moved two bail applications, which were dismissed by JM 1. Thereafter, he moved a third bail plea on July 27 and after several adjournments, it was finally taken up for hearing on August 3, when JM I was on leave. The JM II, in charge of the court granted bail to Ravikumar and also to the other accused in the case the same day, despite strong objection from the police. However, based on an appeal by the State, the Principal Sessions Court, cancelled the bail granted to them on August 8. 

Challenging this, Ravikumar moved the High Court. Justice P N Prakash, who upheld the cancellation of bail, said “The accused have arrogated themselves, the power of the State and manufactured bogus lottery tickets for sale to gullible persons. The gargantuan nature of the allegation must have deterred the magistrate from dealing with the bail application. Under such circumstances, the order passed by the Principal Sessions Judge is perfectly justified.” The judge also noted that “when the union territory has initiated enquiry into the conduct of the Assistant Public Prosecutor, the High Court should not lag behind, but conduct an enquiry on the conduct of the Judicial Magistrate”.