The Division bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, and Justice PS Narasimha granted bail to Dr. Anand Rai, the whistleblower in the Vyapam scam, who was arrested in a case over alleged violence during a dharna, on January 13. 

Rai was taken into custody on November 15, 2022. On November 17, 2022, the trial judge denied him bail. On December 12, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh High Court also denied his bail application, prompting him to petition the Supreme Court.

A bench granted bail to Rai "having regard to the period of custody and the facts and circumstances of the case".

"This man is an ophthalmologist. He says he is also the whistleblower in Vyapam scam. The allegation is that he was part of a mob which attacked the collector. How long will you keep him inside?", CJI Chandrachud asked the State of MP.

"To remove the impression, there are 4-5 FIRs against him prior to this so called whistle blew", Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, responded on behalf of the State of Madhya Pradesh. 

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Rai, claimed that he was held in solitary confinement during his detention. The SG refuted this allegation. 

SG asked the bench to impose a bail condition "not to participate in such dharnas" because Rai was a government employee. The bench, however, denied the request. 

Last year, the Supreme Court refused to dismiss another FIR filed against Rai under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act for allegedly making a derogatory Facebook post about Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister's Deputy Secretary Laxman Markam.

Case Title : Anand Rai vs State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: SLP(Crl) No.12933/2022