Ramadoss illegally allowed admission in medical college: CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday told a Delhi court that former union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who along with others, is accused in a graft case, had "illegally" allowed an Indore-based medical college to proceed with the admissions without having sufficient faculty and clinical material.

During arguments on framing of charges, the agency told Special CBI Judge Ravinder Kaur that Ramadoss, in conspiracy with the co-accused, had given approval in permitting IndexMedicalCollegeHospital and Research Centre to take admission for second year despite the fact that Medical Council of India and a committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, recommended against it.

CBI prosecutor V K Sharma said IMCHRC was not having sufficient faculty and clinical material required as per MCI norms but despite that Ramadoss granted it permission to take admission for a second batch of MBBS students for academic year 2008-09.

"Ramadoss illegally renewed the approval for IMCHRC," the prosecutor said adding co-accused Suresh Singh Bhadoria, Chairman of IMCHRC, was in the ministry on the day when the minister gave his approval for it. The agency said that after MCI inspectors had clearly said that permission may not be granted to IMCHRC due to the deficiencies, a central team was constituted by the accused to obtain a favourable report for the purpose of issuing permission for renewal of admission in second year.

The prosecutor said the central inspection team was not told what they have to do and only vague instructions were given to them. The CBI concluded its arguments on framing of charges and the defence counsel would now advance their contentions in the case on Saturday.

Ramadoss and nine others were chargesheeted by CBI on April 27 last year in the corruption case.

The 36-page charge sheet had named the Pattali Makkal Katchi leader and others, including two senior government officials and two doctors of SafdarjungHospital here and five persons associated with the private hospital in Indore which allegedly gained "pecuniary advantage" in 2008.

Besides Ramadoss, who was the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare from May, 2004 till April 2009 in the United Progressive Alliance -I, the CBI had chargesheeted K V S Rao, Director in Cabinet Secretariat, Sudershan Kumar, Section Officer of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Dr J S Dhupia and Dr Dipendra Kumar Gupta of Safdarjung Hospital.

Bhadoria, Dr S K Tongia, ex-Dean of the college, Dr K K Saxena, Medical Director of the College, Nitin Gothwal and Dr Pawan Bhambani were also chargesheeted by the agency.

Ramadoss, Rao, Kumar and the two doctors of SafdarjungHospital were chargesheeted under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code along with offences under Prevention of Corruption Act. Bhadoria and the other four have been charged with offences of cheating and forgery. Bhadoria has also been charged under Prevention of Corruption Act.