PRAYAGRAJ, April 8 -- While taking exception to the growing perception among the common man that anything can be purchased with bribes, including academic degrees and university jobs, the Allahabad high court refused to quash an FIR against a woman accused of defrauding an aspirant of over Rs.22 lakh under the pretext of securing a PhD degree and an assistant professor job. The HC also noted that the allegations in the FIR disclose a very chilling trend in society, where the common man has developed a perception that anything can be done by paying a bribe. The bench, comprising justice JJ Munir and justice Tarun Saxena, dismissed a writ petition filed by the accused, Priyanka Senger. The court further said that even an educated woman was taken in by the fraud because of her faith in the efficacy of corrupt practices. An FIR was lodged by Tanya Dixit in Kanpur, alleging that the petitioner, Priyanka Sengar, along with co-accused Vikram Singh Sengar, Tripti Singh Sengar and Sanya Singh Sengar, assured Dixit that she would be admitted to the PhD programme at an Aligarh-based University. They also promised her that they would secure an assistant professor job for her at a university in Kanpur. The informant, however, never applied for the job or the academic programme. As per the allegations, in June 2024, the accused handed over a bundle of forged documents to the informant, asking her to join in July. However, when Dixit visited the university with her joining letter, the University Registrar informed her that all the documents were completely bogus and the signatures were forged. Finding it an unfit case for interference under Article 226 (writ jurisdiction) of the Constitution, the high court dismissed the writ petition in a decision dated March 31....