Court orders framing of charges against Anbumani Ramadoss, others

NEW DELHI: Former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and several others were today ordered to be put on trial in two corruption cases alleging showing favours to medical colleges by a special court, which said the PMK leader had "criminally conspired" with other accused and abused his authority.

Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain ordered framing of charges against Ramadoss and others for various alleged offences including criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery for the purpose of cheating and using forged documents as genuine under the IPC and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to public servant abusing official position.

The court said the "acts of the accused in indulging for commission of offence of criminal conspiracy are clearly abuse of an authority, thus, the absence of public interest is manifest. The dishonest intention is inherent in committing the offence of criminal conspiracy".

The court fixed November 2 for formal framing of charges against the accused in both the cases.

Ramadoss was the Union Health Minister from May 2004 till April 2009 in the UPA-I government.

The two graft cases relate to alleged favours shown by Ramadoss and other accused to a private medical college, Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), Bareilly, in Uttar Pradesh and Indore-based Index Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (IMCHRC).

In the case of IMCHRC, apart from Ramadoss, the court ordered framing of charges against then deputy secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Ministry KVS Rao, college chairman S S Bhadoria, its employees Nitin Gothwal and Pawan Bhambhani.

It said they were prima facie found to have committed the offences under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC read with section 13(2) and 13(1)(d) (abuse of power by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of IPC.

The court, however, discharged Safdarjung Hospital's doctors J S Dhupia and Dipendra Kumar Gupta, the then section officer in Ministry of Health and family Welfare Sudershan Kumar, IMCHRC Director K K Saxena and faculty S K Tongia.

In the RMCH case, besides Ramadoss and Rao, the court had ordered framing of charges against college chairman K K Aggarwal.