Health Insurance Scam: J&K Court Directs ACB to Submit Status Report

A court in Jammu and Kashmir directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to provide the status on the complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the request for filing an FIR in an alleged scam of Rs 500-700 crore in the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat-Jan Arogya Yojana. The deadline for this status report submission is September 26.

The complaint, filed by advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, is based on RTI information obtained from the State Health Agency and the Health and Medical Education Department of the Jammu and Kashmir government. This information indicates a prima facie case of a scam in the implementation of the health insurance scheme in the Union territory.

The complainant had initially approached the State Bank of India (SBI) on October 10 of the previous year, seeking the registration of an FIR in this matter. When there was no action from the CBI, advocate Ahmed filed a petition in court on February 7 of the current year, seeking court orders to compel the agency to provide the status of his complaint.

During the court proceedings, advocate Ahmed revealed that, following the directions of the special judge (anti-corruption), the CBI had forwarded the complaint to the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau on April 19 of this year. However, despite the considerable time that has elapsed, the ACB has not taken any action on the matter.

After considering the submissions, Additional Sessions Judge (Anti-Corruption) O P Bhagat has directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to submit a status report by or before the upcoming hearing scheduled for September 26.