The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the corruption proceedings initiated against Kolar-based Devaraj Urs Educational Trust for Backward Classes and its secretary-cum-founder trustee G.H. Nagaraja for allegedly bribing members of the inspection committee of the Medical Council of India to recommend increase in intake of various courses in its medical college during 2016.
The CBI had in September, 2017, registered the First Information Report (FIR) against five individuals and the trust based on the input received from the Income Tax (I-T) Department that the trust had allegedly bribed public servants and members of the inspection pane. The I-T Department, which had searched the premises of the trust and the medical college, had said that it found certain notes written on notepads indicating cash and gifts were given to the members of the committee.
Trust’s founder and former Union Minister R.L. Jalappa, who died in December 2021, was also arraigned as one of the accused in the FIR.
However, the CBI in January 2019, filed a “B” report stating that the there is no evidence to establish the allegations levelled against any of the accused. However, the Special Court for CBI cases in July 2019 rejected the “B” report and directed the CBI to conduct further investigation.
The CBI in March 2021 filed another “B” report with the same view that no evidence was found to establish the charges levelled in the FIR. However, the Special Court for CBI cases in October 2021 again rejected the second “B” report by the CBI and took cognisance of offence against all the accused under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Indian Penal Code.
‘Futile exercise’
Justice M. Nagaprasanna, before whom the petition case up for hearing recently, said that continuing the criminal proceeding against the trust and its secretary would be a futile exercise as the High Court had already quashed the proceedings against two professors, who were working in medical colleges in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and were part of the inspection committee, named as accused in the FIR.
