In a development in the ₹1,500 crore National Medical Commission (NMC) bribery case investigated by the CBI in July 2025, the Chhattisgarh High Court on October 29 granted regular bail to five of the eight arrested individuals. This included Accused No. 2, identified in the FIR as the Project Head of a private technology firm responsible for maintaining the NMC’s confidential web portal.
Accused No. 2 was arrested on July 1 and had been in custody for nearly four months. The case involves allegations of a network comprising officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and NMC, intermediaries (including the alleged primary organizer, Accused No. 1), and representatives of private medical colleges. The charges relate to the purported disclosure of confidential inspection schedules, enabling manipulations such as the use of proxy faculty, falsified documents, and payments.
A chargesheet was filed on August 28 against 12 persons, eight of whom were in custody, invoking provisions under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology Act.
Granting bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha observed that Accused No. 2 held a technical position without regulatory or decision-making authority. The court noted that the investigation concerning this individual was complete, no further recoveries were required, and continued custodial interrogation was not necessary. It further found insufficient specific evidence pertaining to the crime, as no specific leads could be established tying Accused No. 2 to the alleged offenses.
The bench also referenced the involvement of 136 prosecution witnesses, suggesting a prolonged trial. It took into account the accused’s health concerns and those of his elderly father.
The CBI opposed the applications, pointing to digital records indicating unauthorized access via the accused’s login credentials and expressing concerns over potential evidence tampering given his technical background. The court, however, determined that these submissions did not suffice to establish risks of absconding or witness interference.
Accused No. 2 was represented by advocates Ms. Nisha Bineesh, Mr. Aashish George, Mr. Jibin Jose, and Mr. Tanmay Rai, who contended that their client had a limited role and was not central to the alleged conspiracy. The CBI was represented by Mr. B. Gopa Kumar and Mr. Himanshu Pandey.
Bail was granted subject to conditions, including mandatory personal appearance at all trial hearings and no requests for adjournments when witnesses are present.
