Vyapam Scam: HC Quashes FIR Against Renowned Orthopaedic Dr Ajay Shankar Mehta

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): High Court, principal bench of Jabalpur on Tuesday quashed an FIR against a renowned orthopaedic surgeon and former Vice Chairman of Jan Abhiyan Parishad (with ministerial rank), Dr Ajay Shankar Mehta.

The FIR was registered against him in Police Constable Recruitment Examination case. The FIR was filed in 2015 by the CBI and STF against Dr Ajay Shankar Mehta. Dr Mehta, had spent nearly 70 days in judicial custody during investigation. This was the only criminal case registered against him.

Senior advocate Ajay Gupta appeared on behalf of Dr Mehta. The Court clearly stated that—Only two candidates were allegedly linked to Dr Mehta.

There was no financial transaction, personal gain or evidence of criminal conspiracy, the phone conversations with Vyapam officials were a result of personal and friendly relations and that ‘mere friendship cannot be considered evidence of conspiracy.’

HC further noted that the CBI and STF had named several individuals as accused without solid evidence, even though they had not committed any crime. In a key observation, the Court remarked that ‘even if all allegations made by the CBI are accepted as true, they still do not constitute a punishable offence.’