Court orders framing of charges against Ramadoss in graft cases

A special court here on Wednesday ordered framing of charges against former union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss and others in two separate corruption cases filed by the CBI.

The court said that prima facie various offences, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, are made out against Ramadoss and others.

Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain said that the matter for formal framing of charges against the accused in both cases would be taken up on November 2.

The court, however, discharged five persons who were named as accused by the CBI in the two separate graft cases.

The court had on September 24 reserved its order on framing of charges after hearing arguments in the two cases.

Ramadoss served as the Union Health Minister from May 2004 till April 2009 in the UPA-I regime.

The two cases relate to alleged favours being shown by Ramadoss and other accused to private medical college Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in Bareilly at Uttar Pradesh and Indore-based Index Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (IMCHRC).

The case pertaining to RMCH was last year transferred by the Supreme Court from a court in Lucknow to Delhi after Ramadoss had sought shifting of the trial.

He was charge-sheeted along with others by the CBI in the case for allegedly showing favours to RMCH in grant of renewal for admissions in the MBBS course in 2008-2009.

In the IMCHRC case, the CBI had charge-sheeted Ramadoss and nine others for allegedly allowing the college to proceed with admissions without sufficient faculty and clinical material.

All the accused, who have so far denied all allegations levelled against them, are presently out on bail in both the cases.