Vyapam Scam

The Vyapam Scam refers to a large-scale examination and recruitment fraud involving the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (locally abbreviated Vyapam), which conducted entrance and recruitment examinations for medical colleges, government jobs and other professional courses in the state. The scandal, which surfaced in 2013, involved organised impersonation, paper leaks and manipulation of results implicating candidates, examination officials and, allegedly, political functionaries, and led to a large number of arrests and a prolonged, high-profile investigation. The scale and duration of the investigation, along with a series of unexplained deaths of individuals connected to the case, made Vyapam one of independent India's most prominent examination-integrity scandals, eventually leading to Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation of the matter. The case remains the standard historical reference point in Madhya Pradesh whenever new examination-irregularity concerns arise, including the 2026 announcement of dedicated fast-track courts in Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur for examination-malpractice cases, and features in the broader national debate on examination integrity alongside more recent episodes such as the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.

• 1 Centred on the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board ('Vyapam')
• 2 Surfaced in 2013; involved impersonation, paper leaks and result manipulation
• 3 Affected medical college admissions and government recruitment exams
• 4 Led to large-scale arrests and a prolonged investigation
• 5 Marked by a series of unexplained deaths connected to the case
• 6 Eventually placed under Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation
• 7 Remains the reference case for MP examination-integrity policy discussions

Madhya Pradesh's 2026 announcement of fast-track courts for examination-irregularity cases carried particular resonance given the state's history with the Vyapam scandal.