On January 30, 2026, the 23rd Additional Sessions Court in Bhopal convicted Dr Sitaram Sharma for fraudulently claiming Madhya Pradesh domicile status to obtain a medical seat under the state quota. The court sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment each under Sections 420, 467 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code, and two years under Section 471, along with fines of ā¹500 under each section.
According to the prosecution, Dr Sharma is a native of Uttar Pradesh and completed his high school and intermediate education through the UP Board. Despite this, he allegedly procured a forged domicile certificate purportedly issued from Ambah tehsil in Morena district and used it to gain admission to a medical college after clearing the PMT examination. Verification later revealed that no such certificate existed in official tehsil records.
The State Task Force (STF) registered the case after the discrepancy surfaced and filed a chargesheet in court. At the time of conviction, Dr Sharma was serving as a medical officer at a government hospital in Bhind district. Special Public Prosecutors Aqil Khan and Sudhavijay Singh Bhadoria represented the state.
In its order, the court observed that when a government doctor commits such an offence, it undermines public trust in the system. “By securing a medical seat through forged documents, the accused deprived a deserving student of their legitimate right,” the court noted, stressing the need for deterrent punishment.
Just three days earlier, on January 27, the same court delivered a similar verdict in another long-pending case. Dr Sunil Sonkar was convicted for using a fake domicile certificate to obtain admission to Gandhi Medical College in 2010 under the Madhya Pradesh quota. Investigations by Vyapam and the STF later established that he too was originally from Uttar Pradesh.
After a legal battle spanning nearly 15 years, the court sentenced Dr Sonkar to rigorous imprisonment of up to three years under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471, along with fines. Prosecutors said the verdict marked a significant step in restoring faith in the admissions process.
Legal experts said the back-to-back convictions signal stricter scrutiny of domicile-based reservations in professional courses. Officials indicated that more cases related to forged certificates are under investigation, and further prosecutions may follow.
