Bhopal, February 3, 2026: A court in Madhya Pradesh has handed down prison sentences to two doctors within a span of just three days for using forged domicile certificates to secure government medical seats. The rulings underscore that such offenses not only constitute fraud but also deprive meritorious candidates of their rightful opportunities.
On January 30, 2026, the 23rd Additional Sessions Court in Bhopal convicted Dr. Sitaram Sharma for falsely claiming Madhya Pradesh domicile status to obtain admission 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 (IPC), along with two years under Section 471. A fine of ₹500 was imposed under each section.
According to the prosecution, Dr. Sharma is a native of Uttar Pradesh and completed both his high school and intermediate education through the Uttar Pradesh Board. Despite this, he allegedly procured a forged domicile certificate purportedly issued from Ambah tehsil in Morena district, which he used to secure admission to a medical college after clearing the Pre-Medical Test (PMT). Subsequent verification revealed that no such domicile certificate existed in official tehsil records.
The case was registered by the State Task Force (STF) after discrepancies were found during the verification process. At the time of his 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 during the proceedings.
In its order, the court emphasized the breach of public trust when a government doctor commits such an offense. “By securing a medical seat through forged documents, the accused deprived a deserving student of their legitimate right,” the court noted.
On January 27, 2026, just three days earlier the same court delivered a similar verdict in another case involving the use of a forged domicile certificate to obtain a government medical seat. The court convicted Dr. Sunil Sonkar for using a fake domicile certificate to secure admission to Gandhi Medical College in 2010 under the Madhya Pradesh quota.
The case was registered at the STF police station in 2020 following an inquiry into the 2010 PMT admission process. Investigations by Vyapam and the STF established that Dr. Sonkar, like Dr. Sharma, was originally from Uttar Pradesh.
After a legal battle spanning nearly 15 years, District Judge Atul Saxena sentenced Dr. Sonkar to rigorous imprisonment of up to three years under Sections 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the IPC, along with fines of ₹500 under each section. All sentences will run concurrently.
According to Dainik Jagran, 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.
(Rh/VK)