Allow arrested student to write exams: Court

The Belthangady JMFC Court has upheld Vittal Malekudiya’s right to education by directing Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy on Monday to permit Vittal, a first year Mass Communication and Journalism student, to file his examination application through an authorised person.

Following this, an authorised person from an organisation will take the General Power of Attorney and do the needful on behalf of Vittal, on Wednesday.

The decision of the Court comes as a follow up to Vittal’s mother Honnamma’s plea to the VC to allow Vittal to file examination application and provide opportunity to him to write examination, recently. However, the VC had directed Honnamma to get Court’s permission as Vittal is in judicial custody facing charges of supporting the Maoists. Following this, advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady filed a petition on behalf of Vittal.

The Court, which heard the petition on Saturday, directed that the VC can receive payments for examination application from an authorised person of Vittal. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Ulepady said that the court also has directed the jail authorities to make arrangements for Vittal to write application papers.

Vittal’s examination will begin on May 9 while the last date to submit application without fine is March 26 and with penalty is April 4. Ulepady said that Vittal’s examination application papers will be submitted in a couple of days.