CBI books Bengal govt officials for allotting MBBS seats in govt colleges with ‘fake ST certificates’

Case registered by agency’s anti-corruption branch in Kolkata on order of Calcutta High Court, which also came Wednesday in matter of Itisha Soren vs Union of India versus others.

MAYANK KUMAR, The Print, 26 January, 2024, New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday booked unknown West Bengal government officials in a case related to the alleged issuing of fake, reserved-category certificates to candidates, which were then allegedly used to secure admission in the state’s medical colleges over the past three years.

The case was registered by the agency’s anti-corruption branch in Kolkata on the order of the Calcutta High Court, which also came Wednesday in the pending matter of Itisha Soren vs Union of India versus others.

Petitioner Soren, who appeared in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test last year, belongs to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. She has claimed she was denied a seat in a government medical college, though others made it by showing fake ST certificates.

Soren had filed a writ petition in the high court on 8 September last year alleging inaction by the Director of Medical Education and chairman of the West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee on her complaint.

Her complaint also stated there were a large number of medical seats that were allegedly allotted to students from the ST category while they were not from the community and had obtained those certificates by fraudulent means.

The case has been filed under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 197 (knowingly signing fake certificates), 198 (using corrupt certified documents), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (committing forgery with the intention to cheat), 471 (dishonestly using forged document), and 420 (cheating) and 7A of the Prevention of the Corruption Act, that deals with public servants accepting or attempting to accept undue advantage.

‘Poor, could not afford private college’

According to the writ petition, Soren obtained 199 out of a total of the 720 marks in NEET for 2023-24, and secured a rank of 28,319 among candidates from Scheduled Tribes.

However, she could not get an MBBS seat in any government college and was allotted a private medical college, after two rounds of counselling.

The petitioner claimed she belonged to a very poor family and could not afford admission to a private college. She later found out, she added, that a large number of students were allotted seats in government colleges in the ST category despite them not belonging to the community.

Simultaneously, the West Bengal Scheduled Tribes Welfare Association also lodged a specific complaint that one candidate named Saranya Mondal obtained an ST certificate on the same date without the necessary inquiry.

“A large picture of corruption in respect of issuance of certificates of reserved category candidates and use of those for admission in Medical colleges is peeping its head like the tip of an iceberg in this matter. The entire thing for last three years is to be thoroughly investigated by the CBI as to issuance of reserved category certificates and admission of candidates with such certificates in Medical colleges,” a single judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said in its order Wednesday, directing the CBI to file a case and start an investigation.

“When a scam is peeping its head, it is the duty of the court to pass appropriate order for a thorough investigation in the matter irrespective of whether the writ petitioner has prayed for a C131 inquiry or not. In a writ application where a corrupt practice is apparent the prayer or not of a petitioner cannot act as a deterrent in the exercise of a writ court’s jurisdiction. Therefore, even without the prayer of the writ petitioner this court can pass an order for thorough investigation into the matter.”

The bench also said a CBI probe was needed because the state police could not be trusted, citing the recent attack on Enforcement Directorate officers who were on their way to question Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in North 24 Parganas. The ED was probing Shahjahan in the alleged ration scam in the state.

The order further said: “The police of this State have not been able to arrest one culprit Sk. Sajahan in the recent Sandeshkhali raid by ED, who dared to touch the ED officials of this country which means that the Union of India has been touched by some miscreants. Therefore, I cannot place any faith upon such police authority, though I believe that they are efficient enough if they are allowed to work. But in several matters it comes to light that police authority fails to take right steps to investigate crimes.”

“Therefore, this matter is to be investigated by the CBI,” it said.

(Edited Tikli Basu)