SC favours transfer to itself pleas against alleged DMAT scam

The Supreme Court today said that it may transfer to itself a batch of pleas, pending in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) to fill management and NRI seats in private medical colleges in the state.
"We are seized of the matter (in Vyapam case). Then why cannot these matters be also transfered here? What is the problem?" a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice R Banumathi said.
The bench, which almost acceded to the prayer seeking transfer of petitions from the High Court to the apex court, later fell short of ordering when it found that the Association of Private Medical Colleges was not made a party in the transfer petitions.

"Why have you not made Association a party when it was there in the writ petition (pending before the High Court)?" the bench said.
The bench then adjourned the hearing after asking the petitioners to implead the Association as a party.
The bench was hearing pleas of whistle blowers Anand Rai and Paras Saklecha who are seeking transfer of their petitions from the High Court to the apex court.

Earlier, the court had asked the Madhya Pradesh government to apprise it of its views on pleas seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in DMAT meant for filling up management and NRI seats in private medical colleges there.

The bench had also said that it was "tentatively" in favour of a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in DMAT also.
There are 15 private dental colleges and six private medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh with nearly 2,800 seats for which the Association for Private Medical and Dental Colleges (APDMC) conducts DMAT every year.
42 per cent seats fall under government quota, 43 per cent seats are for the college management and remaining 15 per cent go to NRIs.
The petitions allege scam in (DMAT) examination conducted
for private seats by private medical colleges and "government has nothing to do with all this. No government official is involved...," he said, while opposing a CBI probe.

Recently, the probe agency had said that around 27 per cent posts from Inspector to Additional SP level are vacant, making it impossible to take over the new cases.
The apex court had on July 16 sought a response from the Centre, Madhya Pradesh government and others on PILs seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in DMAT to fill up management and NRI seats in private medical colleges in the state.
Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, had contended that unscrupulous students of medical colleges sit in DMAT to help others for monetary considerations and later give up their seats at the last moment as they are already studying in one of the medical colleges.

The seats vacated by the "racketeer students are filled up illegally by private medical colleges," he had said.