TN medical colleges go free despite parading fake faculty The speed with which the Madras high court has dismissed charges against medical colleges accused of seeking capitation fees or inflating faculty numbers has raised eyebrows in judicial circles and focused a spotlight on the mess in the professional education sector. Between July 16 and August 7 this year, four medical colleges facing CBI cases have managed to wriggle out of criminal proceedings, that too after detailed chargesheets were filed, which signifies that the cases were on the threshold of trial. Medical Council of India inspection teams had unearthed a fraud which revealed that at least three pri vate medical colleges had paraded fake faculty during inspections, in order to receive or renew their recognition. However, neither MCI nor the Union ministry of health and family welfare initiated criminal proceedings by lodging a complaint. It was left to CBI to slap cases of cheating and conspiracy against Melmaruvathur Adhi Parashakthi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute and Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences. A trial court discharged the colleges and later the high court upheld the order saying “fake submissions” and “errant doctors” were “an offence” under the Medical Council of India Act, but not a crime. In the fourth case involving Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai, evidence was based on a joint sting operation by Times Now and The Times of India. Visual and audio recordings of university officials demanding capitation fee ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 35 lakh, was handed over to CBI at the agency’s request. But CBI dragged its feet by invoking only Prevention of Corruption Act provisions against college administrators and no other penal law such as IPC for seeking capitation fees. The court threw out the case saying a dean of a private university is not a public servant discharging public duty, and hence the PC Act could not be invoked against him. “The central agency failed to weave a strong case around the material it had in its possession,” a veteran prosecutor told TOI. “The CBI has no explanation for removing MCI strongman and its chairmanpresident Dr Ketan Desai from the chargesheet, even though the FIR contained his name. Also, when the case was transferred from the files of the special court for CBI cases to the additional chief metropolitan magistrate court, that too without any formal application from anyone or orders from courts, the CBI failed to oppose or challenge the transfer,” he said. Incidentally, Desai despite being MCI president was on the board of management of Sri Ramachandra when the scandal broke in 2009, which indicated a serious conflict of interest. Subsequently, he lost his post after he was arrested for allegedly taking Rs 2 crore as bribe from a medical college in Punjab. The case continues but Desai has made a comeback as a member of the Gujarat Medical Council. In the present case, CBI has failed to name not only Desai but also the ‘fake faculty’ who are doctors who lend their names to colleges to window-dress their roll-call list for a consideration, said a veteran prosecutor.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 06:55:18 +0000
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