BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed a panel of experts to re-inspect the infrastructure available at Basaveshwara Medical College in Chitradurga and submit to the court a fresh report on the issue.

The court passed the order after some students and teachers complained that the committee, which had been constituted by the High Court itself, had not ascertained their views or allowed them to be present when it recently inspected the college.

The court had set up a five-member committee, headed by a retired Judge, A.B. Murgod, to look into the infrastructure available in the college and the deficiencies in the institution and report back to the court.

The committee comprises among others the Director of Medical Education (the nominee of the State Government), Sachedeva, the nominee of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and two former principals of Government medical colleges.

Justice N. Kumar, who has been presiding over the case, had passed the order on constitution of the committee after several medical students of the college, admitted to the 2001-02 course, sought a direction to the State and its authorities to transfer them to any other recognised institution in the State. The students (94 of them) had been admitted to the medical course through the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell. However, the Centre derecognised the college and the students apprehended that their degrees would not be recognised by the MCI. They wanted to be transferred to any other recognised medical college so that they could appear for the MBBS examination in March 2006.

Renewal of recognition

The students said the college was expected to get renewal of recognition every year. After it failed to satisfy certain legal requirements, the Centre had cancelled the recognition.

The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) had filed a memo giving the vacancy position in medical colleges. The MCI, however, had disputed this and said as per the law students could not be transferred. It cited a recent Supreme Court ruling in this regard.

The MCI had said that the college had not been recognised as it had failed to meet the requirements. It had inspected the college and said some of the deficiencies still continued to exist. Justice Kumar had asked all the parties, the college, MCI, State and Central Government to come to an understanding so that the future of the students could be protected. He had indicated that the committee could go into the existing deficiencies and also suggest remedial measures.

Fresh report sought

When the matter came up, Justice Kumar on Friday remitted the issue back to the committee and directed it to re-inspect the college in the presence of students and teachers and submit to the court a fresh report. He adjourned further hearing on the matter.

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