As death count in Vyapam mounts to 48, Supreme Court to hear plea for CBI investigation on July 9

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear petitions seeking a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation into the high profile Vyapam scam on July 9. The multi-crore scam in Madhya Pradesh is becoming murkier with each passing day and at least 48 people have died in the case.

The four petitions filed in this regard included that of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, whistleblower Anand Rai.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha said, "All cases related to Vyapam will be heard on July 9. There are four petitions related to Vyapam in the apex court. The Supreme Court needs to intervene for the trail of deaths to stop."

The Congress termed the intervention of the apex court in the case as the beginning of the justice. "The investigative arms reporting to the High Court are reporting to the Chief Minister, their hands are tied. We want the justice for those who have died," said Congress leader Tom Vadakkan.

The Congress has demanding a CBI probe into the case and said it does not have any faith in the Madhya Pradesh government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is firm on its position that only Supreme Court or High Court can decide on CBI probe and it cannot overstep court's jurisdiction. " We have been saying that only the Supreme Court and High Court can take a decision on probe in the matter. We should wait for the court to decide, acceptance of petition does not mean much," said BJP spokesman GVL Narsimha Rao.

Petitioner Anand Rai said, "This shows that Supreme Court is serious on the case. I have put in fresh evidences in the case on how STF is shielding the bureaucrats and only focusing on smaller accused."

On Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the probe by Special Investigation Team into Vyapam scam was being monitored by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the government cannot direct the court to hand it over to CBI.

"SIT probe into the scam is on, and the government cannot direct the High Court or the Supreme Court on the issue," Singh said.

Asked why the state government was avoiding a CBI probe into the massive recruitment/admission scam, Singh said the High Court and the apex court had already rejected a PIL in this regard. "There is no point in handing over the ongoing probe to CBI at this juncture," he said.

"In case someone tries to influence the probe, or if any incident takes place that affects the investigation, then I am sure that the court will take cognisance.

"If the Supreme Court or the High Court feels that the probe is not perfect to the extent it should be, then it will give directions and the government will immediately accept it and hand over the matter to the CBI," Singh said.

He also pointed out that the current probe was being conducted by a High Court-appointed SIT, and was being monitored by the court.

On Tuesday morning, one more death was reported in connection with the deadly scam after a constable Ramakant Pandey was found hanging from the ceiling at a tourist outpost in Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.

Trainee sub-inspector Anamika Kushwaha was found dead in a lake in Sagar district on Monday. It followed the unexplained deaths of journalist Akshay Singh and Jabalpur Medical College Dean Arun Sharma.