JUDGMENT :

Prayer: Suo Motu (PIL) Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to direct the Respondents 1 to 10 to enquire into and register FIR for proceeding against Respondents 11 to 15 and their authorised representatives for preparing and sending fake interview/appointment letters with an intention to defraud the innocent public with an oblique motive and to make unlawful gain and to proceed in accordance with.

1. This Suo Motu Writ Petition in the form of Public Interest Litigation has been filed to direct the Respondents 1 to 10 to conduct a thorough enquiry and register an FIR so as to proceed against Respondents 11 to 15 and their authorised representatives for preparing and sending fake interview/appointment letters with an intention to defraud the innocent public with an oblique motive and to make unlawful gain and to proceed in accordance with law.

2. The issue in this petition crops out of an interview call letter allegedly sent in the name of one of us, which, at the first blush, portrays that the letter had been issued with an ulterior motive to defraud the public at large. A reading of the letter unravels that there is no genuineness in the commitment made by the Company and their intention appears that they wanted to collect money from jobless persons, by falsely promising to secure jobs in private Companies.

3. When the matter was taken up for hearing on 01.10.2017, this Court directed the Respondents 1 to 10 to conduct an enquiry on the issue and submit a detailed report to this Court in respect of the following aspects:

(i) How many interview cards have been sent by the respondents 11 to 15?

(ii) So far, how much money has been collected from those candidates who attended the interview and how much money has been collected/encashed by way of Demand Draft or any other mode and to seize the materials available in the respective offices of the respondents 11 to 15 including cash/Demand Drafts/or any other mode, collected between 01.10.2017 and 03.10.2017?

(iii) How many persons are involved in the above conduct of fake interview?

(iv) How the Emblems of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu have been surreptitiously used by the respondents 11 to 15?

(v) Is there any previous antecedent of similar fake interview conducted by these gangs?

(vi) Whether the fake interview is a part of very big net-work, including the involvement of cyber crime under the relevant provisions of laws, involving to defraud the people throughout the nation?

4. In pursuance thereof, Mr. A.G. Babu, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell, CBCID, Chennai had filed a detailed enquiry report on 13.10.2017, and the gist of the report is as follows:

(i) Respondents 11 to 15 are genuine Recruitment Agencies and that they have collected nominal fees as registration charges from the candidates seeking recruitment and thereafter collected commission from successful candidates.

(ii) One Bharathiraja, aged 25 years, a Diploma holder in Civil Engineering, applied for a job in Rajiv Awas Yojna as per the advertisement in the Tamil Daily ‘Daily Thanthi’ and sent an SMS to the Mobile Number 8860518697 in that regard and though he was assured of a job, he was asked to pay a sum of Rs. 12,500/- followed by a reminder to pay the amount. Sensing an act of fraud in the appointment order and finding that Manpower Agencies are cheating job aspirants by sending fake Call letters, Bharathiraja decided to punish them, for which, he had furnished the address of one of us, mentioning his mobile number to various Manpower Agencies, i.e. respondents 11 to 15, including the mobile number, which was mentioned in the Rajiv Awas Yojna advertisement.

(iii) The appointment letter received by the said Bharathiraja clearly shows that it is a fraudulent document containing the insignias of the Emblem of Government of India and the State of Tamil Nadu and that the Mobile numbers of the suspected accused were purchased in New Delhi and are