Delhi HC sets aside order to frame charges against Anbumani Ramadoss in corruption case
The former Union health minister had allegedly granted illegal favours to two medical colleges while he was in his post.
The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a court’s order to frame charges against former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss in two corruption cases. The cases relate to alleged favours Ramadoss and other accused gave to Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital in Bareilly and Index Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in Indore, PTI reported.
The High Court sent the cases back to the trial court and directed it to hear the matter afresh. It has listed the matter in the trial court on August 19.
The trial court had ordered on October 7, 2015, that charges be framed for offences including criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery for the purpose of cheating and using forged documents, and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to public servant abusing official position.
Ramadoss, a Pattali Makkal Katchi leader, was the Union minister of health from May 2004 to April 2009. He allegedly granted permission illegally to the medical colleges to admit students, while one of the institutes did not have enough faculty members or clinical infrastructure to run the course he had allowed students to be taken in for.
Several accused in the cases had been discharged, which the Central Bureau of Investigation had challenged. The accused had also challenged the charges the trial court had framed against them.
Besides Ramadoss, other accused in the case were then deputy secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Ministry KVS Rao, college chairman SS Bhadoria, college employees Nitin Gothwal and Pawan Bhambhani. Those discharged were Safdarjung Hospital doctors JS Dhupia and Dipendra Kumar Gupta, then section officer in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Sudershan Kumar, and Index Medical College Hospital Director KK Saxena and faculty SK Tongia.
In the Rohilkhand Medical College case, besides Ramadoss and KVS Rao, the court had ordered charges to be framed against college chairman KK Aggarwal.