The CBI on Wednesday registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against a former judge of the Allahabad and Orissa High Courts, Justice IM Quddusi, and seven others in connection with leakage of sensitive information relating to inspections, recognition of courses, and administrative decisions undertaken by the Medical Council of India (MCI) against some medical colleges. Justice (retired) Quddusi was a judge in the Orissa High Court between 2004 and 2010.
Apart from the retired Justice, the others named in the FIR are Bhawana Pandey ( a resident of N-7, GK 1, New Delhi), BP Yadav, Palash Yadav, Sudhir Giri of Venkateshwara Medical College in Meerut, Biswanath Agrawala (a resident of HIG-136, Phase I, Kanan Vihar Bhubaneswar) and some other unknown public and private people.
The CBI is probing Justice (retired) Quddusi’s alleged role in a racket involving the opening of medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh.
The CBI charged the retired Justice as acting as a conduit between the authorities of the private colleges and MCI officials.
He used to fix deals that would ensure MCI recognition to colleges which were struggling to get it, said sources.
According to reports, the investigating agency also conducted simultaneous raids at eight places in Delhi and Bhubaneshwar but the CBI on Wednesday has clarified that there has been no raid on any sitting judge house in Odisha.
According to the CBI FIR, Prasad Institute of Medical Science in lucknow was among the 46 medical institutes that were barred by the Government from admitting new students because of shortcomings in infrastructure.
“Information further revealed that B P Yadav and Palash Yadav have been pursuing this matter by having regular meetings in New Delhi and had challenged the debarment in the Apex Court in Writ Petition (C) 442/2017. The Apex Court in WP (C-) No. 411 of 2017 and connected writs, vide its combined order dated August 1, 2017, had directed the Government to consider the materials on record afresh, pertaining to the issue of confirmation or otherwise of the letter of permission granted to the petitioner colleges or institutions. In compliance with the order, the Government heard the matter and debarred the college from taking admissions for two sessions — 2017-18 and 2018-19. It also authorised the Medical Council of India to encash the college’s bank guarantee of Rs 2 crore”, it said.
“Information further revealed that in pursuance of the aforesaid criminal conspiracy, BP Yadav and Palash Yadav along with Justice (retired) Quddusi, Bhawana Pandey, Sudhir Giri, were likely to meet Biswanath Agrawala for delivering the agreed illegal gratification to Biswanath Agrawala at Delhi shortly,” the FIR said.
The CBI said B P Yadav got in touch with Justice (retired) Quddusi and Pandey through Sudhir Giri of Venkateshwara Medical College, Meerut. Yadav requested the retired judge and Pandey for help who assured him of getting the matter settled in the apex court through their contact and they further engaged Biswanath Agrawala, a Bhubaneswar resident, the FIR alleged.
“Biswanath Agrawala claimed very close contacts with senior relevant public functionaries and assured that he would get the matter favourably settled. He demanded huge gratification for inducing public servants by corrupt and illegal means in lieu of aforesaid help,” the FIR alleged.
The agency laid a trap and recovered Rs 1 crore from Agrawala in Delhi which he had allegedly received from a hawala operator, Ram Dev Saraswat, the CBI sources said.
They said during the searches, Rs 85 lakh were recovered from the hawala operator and Rs 5 lakh from Pandey.