The Hindu : New Delhi News : Court declines to interfere with directive to MCI

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Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
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Court declines to interfere with directive to MCI

J. Venkatesan

The Bench extended the time for the MCI to submit the report till July 12

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with a Madras High Court directive to the Medical Council of India to inspect the Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, near Chengalpattu, and submit a report to the Centre by July 5.

The medical college is run by Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Trust, represented by its managing trustee Saroja Regupathy, wife of Union Minister S. Regupathy.

After hearing counsel for the MCI Maninder Singh and senior counsel Altaf Ahmed and advocate K.K. Mani for the college, a vacation Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and G.S. Singhvi dismissed a special leave petition filed by the MCI against the High Court’s June 20 order.

The Bench, however, set aside a portion of the order imposing Rs.25,000 as costs on the MCI. The Bench extended the time for the MCI to submit the report till July 12.

The trust moved the High Court against the MCI, arguing that the delay in the inspection by the council was holding up grant of permission for the college to start functioning from academic year 2008-2009. On April 11, a single judge had directed the MCI to conduct the inspection and report to the Centre.

The MCI filed the present special leave petition after its writ appeal was dismissed by a Division Bench on June 20. The Trust alleged that the MCI was deliberately delaying the inspection even after the State government had granted Essentiality Certificate, and it had complied with all formalities.

In its special leave petition, seeking quashing of the impugned order and an interim stay of its operation, the MCI said that to make sure that there was no chaos in the admission to the MBBS and BDS courses, it was imperative that the grant of permission be completed as per the schedule prescribed by the Supreme Court.

The Trust, it said, had not fulfilled the mandatory pre-conditions for starting a medical college. So, it could not conduct an inspection.

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