Supreme Court's 'Munna Bhai' Jab At Man Who Used Proxy In Teacher's Exam

The Supreme Court on Monday invoked the Bollywood movie 'Munna Bhai MBBS' to take a jibe at a man who used a proxy person with fake documents to attend the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET).

The court was hearing a bail plea of the accused, Sandeep Singh Patel, who had used another man, identified as Lokendra Shukla, to impersonate him in the examination in 2024. Rejecting his bail, the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta told him, "Munna Bhai andar hi rehna chahiye (Munna Bhai should stay inside you)". The 2003 Bollywood movie shows a gangster, played by actor Sanjay Dutt, using another man as a proxy to sit for the medical college examination.

"You are destroying the entire system of public examinations. There are many genuine candidates who suffer because of such acts," the top court said.

The bench also issued notice on the accused's bail plea and sought a reply within four weeks.

The incident took place on December 15 last year when the CTET exam centre officials reportedly found that Lokendra Shukla, the alleged proxy, had impersonated the actual candidate, Sandeep, after his biometric verification failed. Shukla had used a fake admit card, officials said.

The two were subsequently arrested.

Sandeep, however, reportedly argued that he was hospitalised during the time of the examination, and he had no idea of the impersonation. However, call records and other evidence reportedly showed that the applicant and the proxy were in contact with each other.

While Shukla was granted bail, Sandeep's bail application was rejected by the Allahabad High Court in July this year. According to the court, such practices promote a "culture of dishonesty and demotivate sincere students". "Cheating in an examination deeply affects the career of meritorious students who rely on hard work and honesty. It creates an uneven playing field, where merit is overshadowed by manipulation," the court had said.