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Journalism of Courage
Governor Ram Naresh Yadav is accused no.10 in FIR 4/15 filed by Madhya Pradesh’s Special Task Force under Section 154 of the CrPC on February 24, 2015. The MP High Court quashed the FIR against him on grounds of immunity because of his constitutional post, but Thursday’s Supreme Court could open the gates to a CBI probe against him — if and when he resigns or is relieved of his post.
The allegation against him in the Vyapam scam is that he had recommended the names of five candidates for appointment as forest guards. The forest guard recruitment test was held on March 3, 2013. The names were mentioned in an Excel sheet seized from the computer of Nitin Mohindra, an MP Professional Examination Board official who is one of the first three accused, the other two being his colleagues Pankaj Trivedi and Chandrakant Mishra. The accused have booked under IPC sections 417, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477(c) and 120(b), which relate to cheating, forgery and similar offences, besides sections of the Information Technology Act, the MP Manyata Prapta Pariksha Adhiniyam, 1967, and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
While appearing for Ram Naresh Yadav, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani had alleged in the high court that the Excel sheet was forged. Jethamalani argued that a mere recommendation did not constitute an offence because his client believed the candidates were adequately fit for that job and there was nothing in their character and antecedents to disqualify them. He said no FIR should have been registered without a preliminary inquiry.
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While quashing Yadav’s name from the FIR, the high court had said the immunity he enjoyed would last only till he was in office. The probe agency was free to take his statement but no coercive tactics should be used, the high court had ruled.
Last July, while celebrating his 87th birthday, Yadav had said, “I am ready to be hanged if my guilt is established in the Vyapam scam. I have spent six decades in public life and I have never been involved in any wrongdoing.” He would not think twice before quitting the constitutional post if the allegations were proved, he had said while reacting to reports that expensive gifts had been exchanged at Raj Bhawan in exchange for the jobs he had allegedly recommended.
Until that point, only the involvement of his officer on special duty had come to light. “He is neither my relative nor associated with me in any way’’’ the governor had said in a statement after sacking his OSD.
The son
Ram Naresh Yadav’s son, the late Shailesh Yadav, was accused of having taken Rs 3 lakh in cash to ensure that 10 candidates from Bhind cleared an examination for contractual teachers. Though the 10 candidates Shailesh allegedly recommended cleared the examination, they could not be appointed because they lacked the basic qualification.
Shailesh’s alleged role became public through a supplementary chargesheet filed in a local court, following a statement by Veerpal Singh, an accused arrested in November 2014. The money had allegedly changed hands at Raj Bhawan. Shailesh Yadav, who died in March this year at his home in Lucknow, was rarely seen in Bhopal but was allegedly in touch with middlemen.
The STF had not reached Shailesh though it had sent him summonses. The first summons was sent to Raj Bhawan, which refused to accept it since Shailesh did not live there. Till his death, the STF had only talked about attaching his property.
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