Gujarat doctor accused of acting as ‘link’ in 2018 MBBS exam scam gets bail

“There is no allegation that the applicant himself participated in, or was directly involved in, the exchange, alteration, or manipulation of the mark sheets or answer sheets,” the court added.

According to the prosecution case, the alleged conspiracy dates back to 2018, when Chaudhary was pursuing his MBBS. Three other accused students had failed their MBBS examinations and allegedly sought a way to clear them. The prosecution alleged that the students came into contact with two other accused and paid Rs 50,000 for altering the answer sheets. The accused, including Chaudhary, were allegedly involved in malpractice. Under the pretext of rechecking, the answer sheets were changed, enabling the three students to pass the MBBS examination.

Anticipatory bail denied, doctor surrendered in April

An FIR was subsequently lodged by the registrar of Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University in Patan under Indian Penal Code sections for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and forgery, among other sections. The case against Chaudhary, however, was that he introduced the three MBBS students to the two other accused.

According to the police case, the original answer sheets of the three students were missing from the first-year MBBS examinations conducted between July 17 and July 28, 2018. In their place, investigators allegedly found answer sheets written elsewhere.

The alleged manipulation of examination records in a professional course such as medicine had triggered a major investigation. The Economic Offences Wing of the CID Crime investigated the case, which alleged a conspiracy involving students and others to replace answer sheets and enable failed candidates to clear their examinations.

Chaudhary was later accused in the case and remained unavailable to investigators for a considerable period before the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea and directed him to surrender. He appeared before the B-Division Police Station in Patan at the end of April and was taken into custody.

What the high court said

The State opposed Chaudhary’s regular bail plea, arguing that he was “very much involved” in the alleged offence, had abetted it and was the main conspirator. The prosecution also pointed out that co-accused were yet to be arrested and argued that if released, there was a possibility that he could flee.

Chaudhary’s counsel countered that he was “innocent and falsely implicated”. The defence pointed out that the investigation was complete, the chargesheet had been filed, and nothing remained to be recovered or discovered from him. It was also submitted that he had no criminal antecedents.

The high court noted on Tuesday that Chaudhary had been behind bars since April 29. It also took note of the submissions on his age and background, observing that the applicant was a “30 years old Doctor and has no past antecedent”. It further noted that the commencement and conclusion of the trial would “take its own time”.

Citing Supreme Court precedents on bail, the high court said that the trial would take time to conclude and that “keeping the accused behind the bars is nothing but amounts to pre-trial conviction”.

Chaudhary was ordered to be released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with a surety of the same amount. The court directed him to surrender his passport, if any, to the trial court within a week, barred him from leaving Gujarat without prior permission, and asked him to report to the concerned police station once a month for six months.