Supreme Court rules inclusion of deemed universities under Anti-corruption law 

Supreme Court rules inclusion of deemed universities under Anti-corruption law 

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Education

In News:

• In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has held that bribery and corruption in a deemed university can be tried under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Key takeaways:

• The judgement was given by a three-judge Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana. 
• As per the judgement, 
  • Individuals, authorities or officials connected to a deemed university, irrespective of their role or designation, come under the definition of a ‘public servant’. 
  • Deemed universities come within the ambit of the term ‘university’ in Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. 
  • A deemed institution, under the University Grants Commission Act of 1956, has the same common public duty like a university to confer academic degrees, which are recognised in the society.

Important value additions:

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

• It is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to combat corruption in government agencies and public sector businesses in India. 
• In 2018, Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill was passed under which punish bribe-givers and bribe-takers shall be punished. 
• The Bill provides for jail terms of three to seven years, besides fine, to those convicted of taking or giving bribes to public officials.

Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 29th April 2020

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Deemed university

• Deemed university, or deemed-to-be-university, is an accreditation awarded to higher educational institutions in India, conferring the status of a university. 
• It is granted by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. 
• Institutions that are ‘deemed-to-be-university’ enjoy the academic status and privileges of a university.