Prasad Medical College case: No proof against SC justices

New Delhi: The CBI has found no involvement of Supreme Court justices in the Prasad Medical College scam, where a retired High Court Judge was accused of trying to get a matter settled in the Apex court in favour of the Uttar Pradesh-based institute that was barred by the central government from inducting new students for up to two academic sessions.

The probe agency recently filed a chargesheet in the case in a Delhi court against retired High Court judge I M Quddusi, BP Yadav and Palash Yadav, operating the Prasad Education Trust, an alleged fixer, a hawala operator, and two other private persons in the case. Officials here said that the agency has completed the probe in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against Quddusi and the other accused in 2017, alleging that the Yadavs had hatched a conspiracy with the retired Odisha High Court judge and other middlemen to get a matter settled in the Supreme Court, in favour of the Prasad Education Trust, Lucknow, in exchange for a large bribe amount.

Prasad Institute of Medical Science, operated by the Yadavs was one of 46 colleges barred from admitting medical students for the forthcoming one to two years for substandard facilities and non-fulfillment of required criteria. Prasad Education Trust had challenged the government's order in the Supreme Court, which was ongoing at the time.

However, according to the CBI's FIR, Quddusi later suggested that the petition be withdrawn from the Apex court and be brought before the Allahabad High Court, which had ruled that the college should not be delisted from colleges listed for counselling till the next date of hearing.

Then CJI Dipak Misra had then recommended to the government that SN Shukla, the Allahabad High Court judge who had passed the order in the favour of Prasad Education Trust be impeached.

The CBI had arrested Quddusi and others in 2017 and recovered nearly Rs 2 crore, as part of the bribe amount.