Former MCI chief seeks bail to see ailing mother

NEW DELHI - Former Medical Council of India (MCI) chief Ketan Desai, arrested for allegedly taking a bribe, Monday approached the Delhi High Court for release on bail to see his ailing mother in Mumbai.

Filing his plea before Justice S.L.Bhayana, Desai said his mother is in a critical condition.

Appearing for Desai, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi pleaded that Desai should be granted bail given the medical condition of his mother.

At this, the court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the facts about Desai’s mother and file a reply by May 28.

Desai had earlier also moved a bail application before the court after he was arrested on corruption charges April 22. The court had asked the CBI to file its response by June 3.

Desai had allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs.2 crore for granting recognition to a private medical college in Punjab which did not meet the norms of the Medical Council of India, claimed that the bribe amount was neither recovered from his house nor from the premises belonging to him.

He also contended that recognition granted to any private college is done by a three-member team and he alone is not liable for this.

“I am suffering from hypertension and sleep disorders and have severe breathing trouble as well,” Desai said in his petition.

Desai was suspended by the Gujarat government as professor of urology at the B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad earlier this week after the CBI filed a bribery case against him.

A city court earlier rejected Desai’s bail plea, saying that the investigation is still in the initial stages.