SC favours transfer to itself pleas against alleged DMAT scam

The Supreme Court on Friday said that it may transfer to itself a batch of pleas, pending in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) to fill management and NRI seats in private medical colleges in the state.

“We are seized of the matter (in Vyapam case). Then why cannot these matters be also transfered here? What is the problem?” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice R Banumathi said. The bench, which almost acceded to the prayer seeking transfer of petitions from the High Court to the apex court, later fell short of ordering when it found that the Association of Private Medical Colleges was not made a party in the transfer petitions.

“Why have you not made Association a party when it was there in the writ petition (pending before the High Court)?” the bench said.  The bench was hearing pleas of whistle blowers Anand Rai and Paras Saklecha who are seeking transfer of their petitions from the High Court to the apex court. Earlier, the court had asked the Madhya Pradesh government to apprise it of its views on pleas seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in DMAT meant for filling up management and NRI seats in private medical colleges there.