CBI books Allahabad HC judge in connection with medical college scam

The CBI has booked Allahabad High Court judge Justice SN Shukla in a corruption case for allegedly favouring a medical college and carried out searches at his Lucknow residence, officials said on Friday. Along with Justice Shukla of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, the agency has also named IM Quddusi, a retired judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court, Bhagwan Prasad Yadav and Palash Yadav of the Prasad Education Trust, the trust and private persons Bhavna Pandey and Sudhir Giri in the case, they said.

The accused were booked under section 120B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the officials added. After the filing of the FIR, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started conducting searches at multiple locations in Lucknow, Meerut and Delhi, they said.

It is alleged that the Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences was debarred by the Centre from admitting students due to sub-standard facilities and non-fulfilment of the required criteria in May, 2017, along with 46 other medical colleges, which were also debarred on similar grounds, the officials said. The decision to debar was challenged by the trust before the Supreme Court through a writ petition, they added.

Subsequently a conspiracy was hatched by those named in the FIR and the petition withdrawn with the court's permission. Another writ petition was filed before the Lucknow bench of the high court on August 24, 2017, the officials said.

It was further alleged in the FIR that the petition was heard on August 25, 2017 by a division bench of the court comprising Justice Shukla and a favourable order was passed the same day, they added. In order to to get a favourable order, an illegal gratification was allegedly paid to one of the accused named in the FIR by the trust, the officials said.

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