The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Madhya Pradesh has conceded defeat in the court battle against Vyapam whistle-blower Anand Rai.

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government decided on Friday to withdraw the transfers of Dr. Rai and his wife, Gouri, a gynaecologist, who had alleged they were being shifted with “mala fide” intentions.

Employees of the State Health Department, the couple would be reinstated in their original posting in Indore. Within the next three days, they would be paid the salary withheld by the government for the past three months, Advocate-General Ravish Agarwal submitted in an undertaking before the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Dr. Rai, considered key in exposing the Vyapam scam, was transferred from Indore to Dhar in July. Weeks later, his wife Gouri was transferred to the same district — her second transfer in one month.

Dr. Rai alleged that the transfers were a vendetta against him. He challenged the “mala fide” transfers in court, which had stayed them.

Dr. Rai sees the revoking of the transfers as a minor victory as he had forced the government onto the back foot after he accused Mr. Chouhan of trying to broker a deal with him, offering to cancel the couple’s transfers if he withdrew his campaign against him.

Facing heat in the case, the State government failed to submit a counter to the affidavit on two successive hearings. Asked about the allegations against Mr. Chouhan, Mr. Tankha said the court had disposed of the petition as the State had granted Dr. Rai all his demands.