Medical College Bribery case acquires darker overtones

The Medical College scam involving Lucknow-based Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) allegedly trying to overcome the Medical Council of India's (MCI) decision to bar it from admitting new MBBS students is gathering darker over tones. Activist Prashant Bhushan is facing flak for alleging involvement of Chief Justice Deepak Mishra in the medical scam, on the other hand former Odisha High Court Judge, I M Quddusi, an accused in the bribery case, has moved an application in a special court seeking an investigation into the alleged leak of the transcripts of telephone conversations between him and two other accused.

IM Quddusi’s application seeking an inquiry into whether any documents or conversations have been tampered with will be given a response to by the CBI on January 22, on the directive of the Special Court Judge, Manoj Jain.

Qudussi’s application states “Alleged conversations and the PE report have been released online.” The application further adds, “PE report is a confidential document, which is not even supplied to the accused persons, however, in the present matter, it was leaked’.

The former judge is an accused along with 5 others in the case for trying to influence court proceedings over an application to grant admission rights to PIMS, barred by the MCI.

Qudussi presently has expressed apprehension regarding the conversation leaks and stated that an inquiry in the matter is called for to find out whether the alleged conversations and PE report have been leaked by someone within the CBI or have been stolen, in order to ensure that it does not become a ‘Trial by Media”, reported the Indian Express.

Transcripts of the leaked taped conversations between Quddusi, Agarwal and BP Yadav make references to the alleged payoffs for a favourable order.

The significance and the extraordinary character of the taped conversations, has now seen CJAR activist, Bharat Bhushan jump into the fray and file a complaint to five senior-most Supreme Court judges, demanding an investigation against the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, and senior judges of the Allahabad High Court and Supreme Court.

The transcripts, a copy of which have been published in the Wire contain conversations are also an expose on these middlemen in question demanding crores of rupees on behalf of unidentified judicial functionaries from the manager of the medical college.

The taped revelations have led Activist Bhushan to hold Chief Justice Mishra accountable, as he heads all the benches that spoke in favour of the college during hearings that lasted between August and November.

The complaint stated that “the facts and circumstances” and “evidence available with the CBI” in the medical college case “create reasonable doubt about the role of the CJI”. It also charged the CJI of denying permission to the CBI to file an FIR against Allahabad High Court’s Justice, Narayan Shukla against whom there was evidence of having taken a bribe from the medical college. Bhushan’s complaint spoke of CJI Mishra maneuvering things in a manner so as to prevent Shukla being caught red-handed in the matter exploiting his position as Chief justice to the hilt.

The third charge he made was that the CJI “appears to have antedated an administrative order…which amounts to a serious act of forgery/fabrication.” He alleged that the order which was dated November 6 was presented as prepared on November 9.

The fourth charge in his complaint was the chief justice having acquired a land when he was an advocate by submitting a false affidavit, describing it as an act of alleged misconduct by the CJI.

Bhushan summed it all up by saying “Is it a case when it can be said that there is no need for an investigation against judges? I am just saying that the CBI has a preliminary inquiry report that shows a possibility of judicial corruption.”

He further added that while there is “no evidence to show the involvement of the CJI in any corruption there is enough evidence for a probe against the CJI.” He called for an in-house procedure to facilitate investigative probe in the matter.

Meanwhile, Senior lawyer and SCBA president Vikas Singh alleged that a group of activists under the banner of CJAR was trying to “scandalise the judiciary” by levelling “false charges” against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in connection with a medical college bribery case.