Kerala High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Man Accused Of Leaking Class 10 Question Paper On YouTube

A bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, who heard the matter, took note of the serious nature of the allegations and observed that his custodial interrogation is necessary.

Thus, the Court refused to grant him protection from arrest, as it noted that question papers of three subjects were allegedly leaked on the eve of public examination, that too, through a YouTube channel.

Briefly put, the bail application was filed under Section 482 BNSS by the petitioner, who is the fifth accused in case registered by the Kozhikode Crime Branch for offences under Sections 316(2), 316(3), 316(5), 318(2), 318(4), 61(2)(a), 112(1)(2), and 283 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

As per the prosecution, the accused had allegedly leaked question papers of the 1st and 2nd term examinations for English and Social Science of Class 10, and Mathematics of Plus One, through his YouTube channel.

While the petitioner claimed that he was merely a peon in the school with no access to question papers, the prosecution contended that he is actually a Mathematics teacher, who also conducts online classes via the said YouTube channel.

It was further submitted that since an offence punishable with imprisonment for life is also involved in the case, custodial interrogation is imperative.

After hearing both sides, the Court noted that the petitioner's claim of being a school peon was controverted by the learned Public Prosecutor, pointing out that he is a Mathematics Teacher.

It then remarked:

"Since the allegations against the petitioner are serious, I am of the view that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is necessary".

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the bail plea. However, it clarified that if the petitioner surrenders before the Investigating Officer on July 18, 2025, and is arrested after interrogation, then he must be produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate the same day.

The court added that any bail application filed thereafter shall be considered in accordance with law.

It may be noted that in March this year, a coordinate bench of the HC had dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of Shuhaib, the founder and CEO of MS Solution and accused of leaking State Board Class 10 Question Papers through his YouTube channel.

The Court, while dismissing the petition, had specifically noted that the petitioner had predicted Questions No. 18 to 26 of the English exam in the same order as in the question paper.

The Court observed that experts in the field have given statements to the Investigating Officer saying that such a prediction is impossible unless the petitioner had access to the question papers.

Importantly, the Court had added that leakage of question paper is like cheating a section of students. It had remarked thus:

"If there is any leakage of question papers to the benefit of any section of students, it is nothing but cheating of the other section of students who worked hard day and night preparing for the examination. Leakage of question paper can have a significant effect on the examination process, candidates and the education department conducting the examination. It will lead to the lose of credibility to the Education Department, anxiety and stress to the student community and unfair advantage to candidates who have access to leaked question papers. Leakage of question paper is a clear case of cheating against the student community who studied well and came to the examination hall to write their examinations with a 'finger cross'. Therefore, the sanctity of examination is to be maintained in the education system."

Case title: Zainul Abideen Karumbil vs. State Of Kerala and another [BAIL APPL. NO. 7353 OF 2025 ]

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 448

Counsel for the petitioner: Advocates S Rajeev, V Vinay, M S Aneer, Sarath K P, Anilkumar C R, K S Kiran Krishnan, Dipa V, Akash Cherian Thomas

Counsel for the Respondent: Public Prosecutor Prasanth M P

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