The Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings against Vyapam whistleblower Anand Rai, ruling that charges under the SC/ST Act were unjustified. Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh held that facts failed to disclose any offence under the 1989 law.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court quashed the criminal proceedings against Anand Rai, the whistleblower in the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, determining that there was no case against him under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh found that the facts on record did not constitute an offense under the SC/ST Act, declaring that the application of the stringent provisions of the 1989 law against Rai was unwarranted.
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Granting Rai’s plea, Justice Karol read the key part of the judgment that annulled the proceedings initiated after charges were framed against him, previously upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
This ruling concludes the prosecution that the Supreme Court had put on hold in July 2025, when it paused the trial pending a final decision on Rai’s challenge and expressed concern over how the SC/ST Act had been applied.
Rai has consistently asserted that the case was a result of “malicious prosecution” intended to silence him for his public activism and his role in bringing the Vyapam scam to light.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Vivek Tankha, representing Rai, had argued that the complaint lacked any of the essential elements necessary to invoke the SC/ST Act. They noted that there were no caste-specific references, no intentional insults, or intimidation directed at any members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, as required by the law.
They also highlighted that the investigation was conducted by an officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, which violated Rule 7 of the SC/ST Rules that mandates investigations under the Act to be carried out by officers of DSP rank or higher.
In his petition, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, Rai claimed that the prosecution was not a legitimate application of criminal law but rather a means to target him for his critical ideological stances and activism against the government.
Rai had turned to the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court, on July 3, 2025, decided not to intervene with the trial court’s ruling framing charges against him.
A medical professional by training, Rai is recognized for revealing extensive irregularities in medical admissions in Madhya Pradesh, collectively referred to as the Vyapam scam, which later attracted the attention of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The allegations against him stemmed from an incident in November 2022 during the unveiling of a statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, a respected tribal figure. A rally organized by the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) reportedly encountered disorderly elements who obstructed the convoy of elected representatives and public officials, resulting in claims of unlawful assembly, obstruction of public servants, assault, and the use of criminal force.