Vyapam Scam: SC goes tough, cancels admission of 634 medical students enrolled during 2008-2012

In a major setback for 634 medical students embroiled in Vyapam scam, the Supreme Court on Monday cancelled their admissions in five-year MBBS course in Madhya Pradesh during 2008-2012.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khera, dismissed all the petitions filed by students for leniency, in which they claimed that they had studied hard in five years and passed all internal exams of medical colleges. 

The verdict had come after revelations that the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), better known by its Hindi acronym Vyapam, let candidates morph photographs and send impersonators to write tests.

Considered one of India’s biggest corruption scandals, the Vyapam scam shot to nationwide notoriety in 2015 after a string of mysterious deaths of witnesses and suspects. Following the death of at least 48 people linked to the case, the apex court handed over the Vyapam cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The central agency took over the case, earlier registered at Garha police station in Jabalpur, and filed a First Information Report (FIR) on August 18, 2015, against 60 accused persons.

Since then, the CBI has found that top state BJP leaders and ministers are co-accused in the multi-crore scam, which spans the Pre-Medical Tests (PMT) of 2008, 2009 and 2011 conducted by Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam) or the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB).