SC quashes SC/ST act charges against VYAPAM whistleblower Anand Rai

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Anand Rai , an ophthalmologist and whistleblower in the VYAPAM examination scam, holding that the provisions of the law had been invoked without meeting its mandatory requirements.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N. K. Singh allowed Rai’s appeal against a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had upheld the framing of charges in connection with an alleged incident of violence and abuse during a public programme in Ratlam district in November 2022 . “We have discussed the scope of the SC/ST Act and the action is not in accordance with law,” the bench observed while allowing the appeal.

The case arose from an incident on November 15, 2022 , at Dharad village in Ratlam , where a programme was organised on the occasion of Birsa Munda Jayanti for the unveiling of a statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. An FIR alleged that a group of people blocked a road for nearly an hour, stopped the vehicles of an MP, an MLA, the district collector and other officials, abused the lawmakers and engaged in a scuffle with police personnel who attempted to clear the way.

Rai was named among 40–45 persons in the FIR lodged by one Vikas Pargi . On March 18, 2025 , a special sessions court under the SC/ST Act framed charges against him, which were later upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Challenging the charges, Rai contended that the allegations, even if taken at face value, did not disclose any intentional caste-based insult or violence , which is a mandatory requirement for invoking the SC/ST Act. He also claimed that the case was retaliatory , given his role as a whistleblower in the VYAPAM scam. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal , along with advocate Sumeer Sodhi , appeared for Rai before the apex court.

The Supreme Court held that the material on record did not establish caste-based intent and reiterated that mere obstruction, verbal abuse or a scuffle during a protest cannot automatically attract the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The bench observed that continuing the prosecution in such circumstances would amount to an abuse of the process of law.