List of scandals in India

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The following is a list of proven scandals in India since independence, including political, financial and corporate scandals. The year, or decade, is when the scandal was first reported.

1940s

• 1948 Jeep scandal case

1950s

• 1958 Mundhra scandal^[1][2][3]

1970s

• 1971 Nagarwala case

1980s

• 1985 Fodder scam^[4][5]
• 1987 Bofors scandal

1990s

1991

• Hawala scandal
• Palmolein Oil Import Scam

1992

• Indian stock market scam^[6]

1995

• Purulia arms drop case
• SNC-Lavalin Kerala hydroelectric scandal^[7][8]

1996

• Disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa^[9][10]

1997

• Tatra Truck scam
• Jalgaon housing scam^[11]

1998

• Anubhav Plantations

2000s

2000

• India-South Africa match fixing scandal^[1]

2001

• Operation West End
• Ketan Parekh^[7]
• Roshni Act corruption scandal^[12]

2002

• Stamp paper scam^[13][14][15]
• Best Bakery case
• Provident Fund^[16][17]
• Taj corridor case

2003

• Uttar Pradesh food grain scam^[18][19][20]
• JBT teacher recruitment scam^[21][22][23]

2004

• Manesar land scam

2005

• Scorpene deal scam^[24][25][26]

2006

• Ludhiana City Centre scam^[7]
• Navy war room leak case^[27][28][29]
• Fatwas for cash scandal^[30][31]

2008

• Hasan Ali Khan^[32][33][34]
• Indian Army ration scam^[35][36]
• 2G spectrum case^[37][38]
• Cash-for-votes scandal
• Operation Kamala

2009

• Deendayal Upadhyaya Trust land scam^[39]
• Satyam scandal^[40][41]

2010s

2011

• Housing-loan scam
• Concerns and controversies over the 2010 Commonwealth Games
• Adarsh Housing Society scam^[42][43]

2011

• Belekeri port scam^[44][45]

2012

• DIAL Scam^[46]
• Granite scam in Tamil Nadu^[47][48][49]
• Haryana Forestry case^[50][51][52]
• Ice cream parlour sex scandal
• Indian coal allocation scam^[53][54][55]
• Karnataka Wakf Board Land Scam^[56][57][58]
• Maharashtra Irrigation Scam^[59]
• Uttar Pradesh NRHM scam^[60][61][62]
• Uttar Pradesh sand mining scandal
• National Herald corruption case

2013

• Vyapam scam^[63][64][65]
• NSEL case^[66]
• Railway bribery scam^[67]
• 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case
• 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots
• 2013 Kerala solar panel scam
• 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal^[68][69]
• Madhya Pradesh Scholarship scam
• Saradha Group financial scandal^[70][71][72]

2014

• Pearls Group
• Aavin scam^[73][74]
• Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority^[75]
• Gurugram Rajiv Gandhi Trust land grab case

2015

• DMAT scam
• All India Pre Medical Test
• Murder of Sandeep Kothari
• Lalit Modi case
• 2015 Cash for Vote Scam^[76]
• NSE co-location scam^[77]

2016

• 2016 Bihar school examination scandal.
• Narada sting operation
• Freedom 251^[78][79]
• Fugitive Economic Offender

2017

• National Testing Agency
• Webwork (Indian web site)

2018

• Rafale deal controversy
• Punjab National Bank Scam^[80][81][82]

2019

• Karvy Scam^[83]
• INX Media case^[84]

2020s

2020

• PM CARES Fund
• Bengaluru drug raids^[85]
• Kerala gold smuggling scandal^[86]
• Republic TV TRP manipulation scam^[87][88]

2021

• Pegasus Snooping Scandal^[89][90]
• Delhi liquour scam

2022

• West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam

2023

• Adani Group scandal: In January 2023, Hindenburg Research revealed that it had short positions in India's Adani Group, alleged to be a close ally of Narendra Modi's administration,^[91] and flagged debt and accounting concerns. Concurrently, Hindenburg released a report claiming that Indian conglomerate Adani Group "has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades."^[92] Soon after the report's release, Adani Group companies experienced an acute decline in their share prices.^[93][94][95] In a follow-up piece, The Guardian indicated that Hindenburg called on the Adani Group to sue if they believed the report was inaccurate.^[96][97] By the end of February 2023, the group lost $150 billion in value. Gautam Adani's personal net worth came down as he fell from 3rd richest in the world to 30th richest within a month after the report was published.^{[98][99][100]} The opposition leaders called it the "biggest scam" and Modi has been criticized for his lack of reaction towards the scandal.^{[101][102][103]}

2024

• Electoral bonds scam: Electoral bonds refers to a mode of funding for political parties in India from their introduction in 2018 until they were struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India on 15 February 2024.
• Mahadev Betting App Case
• 2024 NEET controversy
• Indictment against Gautam Adani et al.
• Ayodhya dispute: On June 10, 2024, major media house Indian Express published an investigative article which found that after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict in favour of Ram Temple there was 30 per cent rise in the number of land transactions in at least 25 villages in Ayodhya and adjoining Gonda and Basti districts that fall within a radius of 15 km of the temple. Many of these land deals were linked to politicians, senior officials and their relatives.^[104] The investigation also revealed that the administration did not revise the land circle rates for the past 7 years even after the Supreme Court's verdict although rates have been revised in the adjoining districts.

2025

• NAAC rating bribery case.^[105]
• FIITJEE: In January 2025, FIITJEE, a popular coaching institute for Joint Entrance Examination, faced backlash as several centers across India, including Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Ranchi and other cities, abruptly shut down. The closures, attributed to unpaid salaries and disputes with franchise partners, disrupted the studies of thousands of students. Multiple FIRs were filed against FIITJEE officials for fraud and breach of trust, with allegations of mismanagement and unfulfilled commitments.
• Yashwant Verma: In 2025, a large sum of cash was discovered at his residence during a fire on March 14. An enquiry report was also published by the Supreme Court on the matter and due to sensitivity of the matter, the Supreme Court decided to keep the report redacted from the Public and Parliamentary scrutiny .^[106][107]
• 2025 Indian electoral controversy: A nationwide controversy regarding the collusions of the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party for alleged electoral fraud in the 2024 Indian general election.
• West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam, 2025

See also

• India portal
• Politics portal

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
• Corruption in India
• 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement
• Jan Lokpal Bill
• Right to Public Services legislation
• Corruption Perceptions Index
• Licence Raj
• Mafia Raj
• Rent-seeking
• Lok Ayukta
• United Nations Convention Against Corruption
• Mass media in India
• Fake news in India
• Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024

Further reading

• Shourie, A. (2006). Indian Controversies. New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
• In 2020, Real Estate Scam Fighters^[108][109] is formed with a basic mission to debunk various Frauds in the real estate sector and create awareness for the investors.