KOCHI: Former SFI leader Nikhil Thomas has been granted bail by the High Court in a case related to his admission to M.Com using a forged degree certificate. The bail was granted under strict conditions by Justice Ziyad Rahman's bench. Nikhil had been in custody since his arrest on June 23.

The controversy surrounding Nikhil's admission took a new turn when it was revealed that he had utilized a forged certificate to secure admission to the M.Com program at MSM College in Kayamkulam. The certificate, claimed to be issued by Kalinga University in Chhattisgarh was found to be fraudulent along with five other documents including his B.Com degree certificate.

Following the incident, Nikhil Thomas went into hiding. He was expelled from the CPM of which he was a member affiliated with the Kayamkulam market branch. The district committee of the party took disciplinary action against him in response to the forged certificate revelation.

The investigation into the case led to the arrest of Saju S. Sasidharan, the owner of 'Orion Edu Wing,' an organization located in Kochi that was involved in producing the fake certificates. Abin S. Raj, the second accused had approached Saju to get a fake certificate for Nikhil Thomas, who aimed to maintain his membership in the SFI.