CBI Raids Pharmacy Council of India President's House in Corruption Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted searches at the residence of Dr Montu Kumar Patel, President of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), in Ahmedabad in connection with a case related to alleged corruption and irregularities in the council’s functioning.

The action comes just three days after the CBI registered an FIR against Dr Patel based on a complaint filed by Amit Biswas, Under Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in March 2023. The FIR, officially lodged on June 30 following a preliminary enquiry (PE) initiated in May 2023, names Dr Patel along with several others, including Vinod Kumar Tiwari of the Rameshwar Prasad Satya Narayan Mahavidyalaya Trust in Ayodhya, a middleman named Santosh Kumar Jha, and unidentified public officials and private individuals.

They have been booked under IPC Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating), and Sections 7, 7A, and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which pertain to bribery and misuse of public office.

According to the FIR, Dr Patel came under scrutiny after he was elected PCI President during the 114th meeting of the Central Council on April 6, 2022. It is alleged that he subsequently appointed or facilitated the appointment of numerous individuals to influential positions within the Council, including the Executive and Finance Committees, bypassing due process.

Investigators claim that although the agenda of the 114th meeting was restricted to the presidential election, Dr Patel went beyond the mandate by inducting Dr (Ms) Nilimanka Das into the Executive Committee and nominating six additional co-opted members. These appointments allegedly helped him consolidate control over PCI’s decision-making processes.

Further, these co-opted members were allegedly granted sweeping powers to be part of the Executive Committee throughout the year and were involved in decisions related to the approval of pharmacy colleges. Many of these approvals were made without any formal voting in subsequent meetings, the FIR says.

The preliminary enquiry uncovered serious lapses in the approval of pharmacy colleges under Dr Patel’s tenure. A CBI team that visited the Rameshwar Prasad Satya Narayan Mahavidyalaya in Ayodhya found the institute in a “dilapidated” state, lacking basic infrastructure, faculty, and students. Despite this, the college had received PCI’s approval.

Similar discrepancies were found at 23 other pharmacy colleges and institutes across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. These institutions were found to be operating without meeting prescribed norms. Six colleges — including SSD College of Pharmacy, Gagan College of Pharmacy, Shanti Devi Jain Degree College, Veer Shivaji College of Pharmacy, Bhagwati College of Pharmacy in Uttar Pradesh, and Heyward College of Pharmacy in Madhya Pradesh — were greenlit by the Executive Committee under Dr Patel's leadership, allegedly ignoring negative inspection reports.

The enquiry reportedly points to instances of bribery, favoritism, and abuse of official position in granting approvals to substandard institutions. The FIR states that there is prima facie evidence suggesting a "criminal conspiracy" involving Dr Patel and others, who allegedly misused their authority in exchange for "undue advantage."

The CBI maintains that the facts unearthed during the enquiry reflect serious misconduct and warrant a detailed investigation. 

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