Vyapam probe will join CBI's 6,562 pending corruption trials
Madhya Pradesh's embattled Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has welcomed the Supreme Court's move to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into what has come to be called the Vyapam scam, but with 6,562 corruption cases pending trial, justice through the overstretched agency is unlikely to be quick. The CBI must first investigate the Vyapam case, which will mean tracking down thousands of of suspects and witnesses and following a complex eight-year trail (the scandal first came to light in 2007). After investigation, it must file a charge-sheet. Only then will the case go to trial.
Chouhan was under pressure to accede to a CBI inquiry because as many as 35 people have died since an investigation began in 2013 into allegations of bribes paid for medical college admissions to the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareesksha Mandal (Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board), or Vyapam.
With 2,500 people already named as accused and 1,900 in prison pending investigation, which until July 9, 2015, was monitored by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the new inquiry by the CBI is likely to challenge the agency, already struggling to cope with a rising number of pending investigations and trials in CBI courts. Over the past four years, the CBI has brought down its case-load by no more than 9 percent, from 7,178 in 2011 to 6,562 in 2014, according to the latest government data available on March 31, 2014. Delhi tops the list with 765 corruption cases pending before the courts. Maharashtra is next with 691 cases followed by West Bengal (646), Uttar Pradesh (596) and Tamil Nadu (474). Over the past four years, the CBI registered 2,220 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The agency has completed investigations in 1,512 cases, while 708 cases are pending investigation. During 2013, the conviction rate for corruption cases tried in CBI courts was 69 percent, according to latest data available with the National Crime Records Bureau.
Chouhan was under pressure to accede to a CBI inquiry because as many as 35 people have died since an investigation began in 2013 into allegations of bribes paid for medical college admissions to the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareesksha Mandal (Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board), or Vyapam.
With 2,500 people already named as accused and 1,900 in prison pending investigation, which until July 9, 2015, was monitored by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the new inquiry by the CBI is likely to challenge the agency, already struggling to cope with a rising number of pending investigations and trials in CBI courts. Over the past four years, the CBI has brought down its case-load by no more than 9 percent, from 7,178 in 2011 to 6,562 in 2014, according to the latest government data available on March 31, 2014. Delhi tops the list with 765 corruption cases pending before the courts. Maharashtra is next with 691 cases followed by West Bengal (646), Uttar Pradesh (596) and Tamil Nadu (474). Over the past four years, the CBI registered 2,220 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The agency has completed investigations in 1,512 cases, while 708 cases are pending investigation. During 2013, the conviction rate for corruption cases tried in CBI courts was 69 percent, according to latest data available with the National Crime Records Bureau.
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