The Hindu : SC raps Centre for increasing intake in 11 medical colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2003

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SC raps Centre for increasing intake in 11 medical colleges

By J. Venkatesan

New Delhi Sept. 23. Taking a serious view of the Centre granting permission to 11 medical colleges, including five Government colleges in Andhra Pradesh, to increase their student strength bypassing the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Supreme Court today asked the MCI to conduct fresh inspection of these institutions in four weeks.

A Bench, comprising Justice M. B. Shah and Justice Ashok Bhan, also directed the Centre not to grant fresh permission to any medical college to increase the student intake without complying with the mandatory procedure provided in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

The Bench passed this interim order on an application from the ad hoc committee, appointed by the Apex Court for the administration of the MCI, complaining that the Centre had passed a series of orders in August allowing additional seats for existing colleges or permission for new colleges in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Bench pointed out that the Union Ministry of Health went ahead in granting permission to increase the intake of students in 11 colleges despite the MCI bringing to its notice that they had violated the norms in the previous academic year and suggesting action against them.

Counsel for the Union Government, senior advocate Rakesh Diwedi, said the Centre had the power to issue such permission attaching condition that the colleges should meet the deficiencies within a timeframe.

He said the recommendations of the MCI were not binding on the Government and it could even take independent decisions.

He said that as these were Government colleges, which were earlier cleared by the MCI itself for increase in the number of seats, the Government thought it fit to give them a one-time permission to increase the seats provided they wiped out the deficiencies within a timeframe and neutralise the future admissions.

Disagreeing with this, the Bench said "We do not think prima facie that the Union Government has the powers to issue the directions if the medical college is not complying with the recommendations of the MCI as per the norms from the Government as to how it could sanction additional students for the academic year 2003-04 when these colleges have not fulfilled the deficiencies pointed out for the last academic year."

The Bench observed that, "what you are doing is legalising the irregularities committed by the colleges.

A small deficiency in the operation could be fatal for the patient" and added that the regulations were framed to maintain minimum standards in the medical education.

K.K. Venugopal, senior counsel for the MCI, drew the court's attention to earlier orders of the apex court that the recommendations of the MCI, either for increasing the intake of students or for starting new medical colleges, were mandatory. But, these had been overlooked by the Centre.

He referred to a letter from the Health Ministry to the MCI in August immediately after the Eighth Conference of Central Council of Health and Family Welfare and said the Council had resolved that "the Government medical colleges should not be equated with the institutions owned by private managements as the Government colleges provide medical education at a lower cost to poor and meritorious students."

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