Supreme Court notice to Centre, MCI

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and the Medical Council of India on a writ petition filed by the Government Dharmapuri Medical College, challenging the Centre’s communication that permission given to the college for admitting students for the second year MBBS course for 2009-2010 will not be renewed.

A Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice B.S. Chauhan, after hearing senior counsel Ashok Desai and Counsel T. Harishkumar appearing for the college, issued notice to the respondents seeking their response by August 28, and directed the matter to be listed on that date for further hearing.

In its petition, the college Dean said permission was granted for a year to admit 100 students in 2008-09. Accordingly, the first batch was admitted. For 2009-10, the MCI conducted inspection on April 15 and 16.

Pointing out certain deficiencies, it recommended to the Centre not to renew permission for admission of the second batch.The petition stated that meritorious and poor students, who belong to below poverty line of the General, Backward Class, Most Backward Class and SC/ST categories were admitted for the first year MBBS during 2008-2009.

If permission was not renewed, the public at large and these 100 students would lose a valuable opportunity to pursue studies.

It sought quashing of the July 30 letter and a direction to the MCI to conduct an inspection and a similar direction to the Centre to grant permission to admit students for 2009-2010 before September 30 for starting the course from October 1.