ED Conducts Nationwide Searches in NMC Medical College Inspection Corruption Case.

Headnote:

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted extensive search operations across nine states and the NCT of Delhi in connection with a major corruption case involving the National Medical Commission (NMC). The case pertains to large-scale manipulation of medical college inspections, wherein confidential assessment data was leaked, inspections were compromised, assessors were bribed, and "ghost faculty" and fake patients were deployed to fraudulently secure approvals for academic courses. The searches targeted private medical colleges, middlemen, and officials allegedly involved in facilitating illegal disclosures and obtaining favourable inspection reports. Multiple digital and documentary evidences were seized.

Background:

ED’s investigation is based on an FIR registered by AC-III, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The FIR named several private medical colleges, public officials from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the National Medical Commission (NMC), and various intermediaries.

It was alleged that confidential information relating to NMC inspections was leaked to key managerial personnel of medical colleges and middlemen, enabling them to fraudulently influence inspection parameters.

The illegal acts included:

• Unauthorized disclosure of inspection details.

• Manipulation of assessment parameters to meet statutory compliance.

• Bribing NMC assessors for favourable inspection reports.

• Deployment of fake or proxy faculty ("ghost faculty") during inspections.

• Admission of fictitious patients in hospitals to artificially inflate patient-load compliance.

The orchestrated corruption allowed medical colleges to secure approval to run academic courses illegitimately.

Locations & Institutions Covered:

Searches were conducted at residences, offices, and college premises, including the following seven private medical colleges:

Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (SRIMSR), Raipur

Index Medical College, Indore

Gayatri Medical College, Visakhapatnam

Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences, Warangal

Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (SIMSR), Kallol

National Capital Region Institute of Medical Sciences, Meerut

Shyamlal Chandrashekhar Medical College, Khagaria

ED’s Findings During Searches:

Multiple digital devices, including mobile phones and servers containing data, were seized.

Preliminary evidence indicates the existence of a structured network of middlemen enabling medical colleges to pre-empt inspections by accessing confidential assessment criteria.

The findings corroborate the FIR’s allegations of:

• Systematic bribery of public officials and assessors,

• Fabrication of qualification and staffing data,

• Use of proxy faculty to meet faculty norms,

• Deployment of fake patients to show inflated patient statistics during inspections.

Legal Provisions Involved:

Sections of BNS, 2023 – Pertaining to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption.

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – Offences relating to public servants receiving illegal gratification.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 – Investigation of proceeds arising from criminal misconduct and corruption.

Status

Further investigation is in progress.