Court grants bail to Ramadoss and eight others in graft case

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Former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and eight others, accused in a corruption case relating to the grant of illegal permission to a medical college to admit students, were on Saturday granted bail by a Delhi Court.

Special Judge Talwant Singh enlarged the nine accused on bail considering that they were not arrested during the CBI probe and have co-operated during the investigation.

"Keeping in view that the accused persons have co-operated during the investigation and they were not arrested during the investigation and the charge sheet has already been filed...''

"..and the material relied upon by the CBI has already been filed in the court, all the accused are entitled to bail on a personal bond of Rs one lakh with a surety of the like amount," the court said.

The former health minister is facing prosecution for allegedly granting permission to the college, which did not have sufficient faculty members or clinical infrastructure to run the course.

PMK leader Ramadoss has been chargesheeted for allegedly abusing his official position in permitting Indore-based Index Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (IMCHRC) to admit students without having sufficient faculty members and clinical infrastructure.

Besides Ramadoss, the court granted bail to Cabinet secretariat director K.V.S. Rao, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's (MHFW) Section Officer Sudershan Kumar and Dr J.S. Dhupia and Dr Dipendra Kumar Gupta of Safdarjung Hospital.

Accused Dr S.K. Tongia, former dean of IMCHRC, Medical Director of the college Dr K.K. Saxena as also Nitin Gothwal and Dr Pawan Bhambani were also granted bail.

The CBI in its 36-page chargesheet had named Ramadoss and nine others including two senior government officials and two doctors of Safdarjung Hospital here, besides five persons associated with the private hospital in Indore which allegedly gained 'pecuniary advantage' in 2008.

Chairman of IMCHRC Suresh Singh Bhadoria, an accused in the case, is already out on bail. Ramadoss was the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare from May 2004 to April 2009 in UPA-I government.

According to the CBI chargesheet, Ramadoss and other accused conspired with each other in permitting IMCHRC admission for second year despite the fact that the Medical Council of India (MCI) and a committee appointed by the Supreme Court had 'repeatedly recommended' that IMCHRC was not having sufficient faculty and clinical material required as per MCI norms.

The MCI had made it clear that permission may not be granted to IMCHRC due to deficiencies observed by its inspectors.

According to the CBI, the accused had entered into a conspiracy in which IMCHRC gained pecuniary advantage in the form of grant of permission for admission of second batch of MBBS students for academic year 2008-09 ignoring the MCI's recommendations.

Ramadoss, Rao, Kumar and the two doctors of Safdarjung Hospital have been charged by the CBI under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC along with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Bhadoria and four others have been charged with offences of cheating and forgery. Bhadoria also faces charges under the PCA.