Tripura MBBS Seat Scam : kingpin Congress leader Ex-Union Health Minister Rashid Masood gets bail, untimely death spares Ex-CM Sudhir Majumdar, Ex-Tripura health Minister Kasi Ram Reang
TIWN
NEW DELHI / AGARTALA, February 17 (TIWN): The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Congress leader Rashid Masood, who became the first elected representative to be unseated after being convicted and sentenced in a criminal case. Massod was convicted by a Delhi court in September 2013 for illegally allowing undeserving candidates to be admitted against the MBBS seats meant for the Tripura in the medical colleges under the central quota in 1990. He was then health minister in the V.P.Singh-led National Front government.A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C. Pant granted bail to 68-year-old former Rajya Sabha member who had invoked health grounds and his acute diabetic condition for getting bail.The then chief minister of Tripura Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar and then health minister of the state, Kashi Ram Reang, also a ex-Congress leader were also accused in the case. They passed away pending trial.
Masood, who was the first lawmaker to lose his seat in the legislature in the wake of 2013 apex court verdict denying representatives the breathing time to appeal against their conviction and sentencing, had challenged the Nov14, 2014 Delhi High Court order declining his plea for bail.
Before being bailed out Monday, Masood had spent about one and half years in jail. He has also challenged, before the Delhi High Court, the trial court verdict convicting him for medical seats allocation scam and sentencing him to four year jail term.
The apex court by its July 10, 2013, verdict had held ultra vires the sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of People Act, which protected elected representatives from being unseated instantly as it gave them three months breathing period to appeal against their conviction and sentencing.
Two other accused - former IPS officer Gurdayal Singh and former IAS officer Amal Kumar Roy - have also been sentenced to four years in jail while seven students who were also involved in the scam get one year in jail.
Masood has been held guilty of nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allocated to Tripura from the central pool. The fraud was carried out during Masood's tenure as union Minister of State for Health in 1990-91.
The court has also found him guilty of conspiring with two others who have also been convicted.
CBI had alleged that some candidates got their names nominated for MBBS seats for academic session 1990-91 from accused Gurdial Singh, then Resident Commissioner of Tripura in New Delhi and an IPS officer of Gujarat cadre who was on deputation to government of Tripura.
As per CBI, Singh and Masood entered into criminal conspiracy among themselves and with candidates whose names were to be nominated as nominee of Tripura even when they were not qualified for the same.
With regard to one candidate (who was also an accused in the case and was a juvenile at the time of offence), CBI said, investigation revealed that the nominee's father was the editor of a daily in Uttar Pradesh and had met Masood to arrange a medical seat for his son. Masood had in turn allegedly contacted Singh for the same.
Of the 11 cases, Gurdial Singh is a common accused in six cases while retired IAS officer Amal Kumar Roy, Secretary to then Congress Chief Minister of Tripura Sudhir Ranjan Majumder has been held guilty in five similar cases.
Sanjay Majumder
Anirban Mitra