The Madhya Pradesh High Court has closed nine of the 18 special courts that were hearing the Vyapam Scam cases in the State, on a plea by the CBI that 38 cases be shifted to other special courts for efficient handling of proceedings.
The High Court had initially instituted 22 special courts for the proceedings related to the cases. Four were closed earlier and nine more have now been shut. The cases pending before them are being transferred to other special courts with better infrastructure.
The CBI has so far registered more than 150 cases pertaining to the scam.
80 chargesheets
While 14 cases as probed by the Madhya Pradesh police have already been committed to trial of the accused persons, the agency has filed over 80 chargesheets involving about 350 accused persons and half-a-dozen closure reports in connection with about 90 cases.
In 64 cases, investigation is at the final stages. The accused persons in two cases have been convicted so far.
The Vyapam scam was unearthed by the Indore police in July 2013, when 18 persons — allegedly involved in impersonating the candidates in the entrance examinations for admission in government institutions and employment — were arrested.
Following the Supreme Court directive, the CBI took over the cases in July 2015.
Since then, the CBI has interrogated more than 5,200 suspects and examined hundreds of witnesses. Inquiries have also been carried out into over a dozen deaths said to be linked to the scam. The scam is alleged to have taken place between 2008 and 2013.
