Judge ‘corrects’ his bench order

THE HC’S REVISED ORDER CAME EIGHT DAYS AFTER THE APEX COURT BARRED IT FROM ALLOWING THE MEDICAL COLLEGE TO ADMIT FRESH STUDENTS

One judge of a twomember Allahabad high court bench made hand written corrections to its own order to allow a medical college in Uttar Pradesh to admit students for 2017-18, show court documents in possession of HT.

The high court’s revised order on September 4 came eight days after the Supreme Court barred it from allowing the Lucknowbased GCRG Institute of Medical Science to admit fresh students for the academic session 2017-18.

The Medical Council of India (MCI), the country’s medical education regulator, had moved the top court against the high court’s revised order, passed three days after the original order.

“I am at my hometown right now to attend a puja. I will reach Lucknow on October 2. I will talk then,” justice Narayan Shukla told HT when reached on phone. The other judge, Virendra Kumar, refused to comment.

The original order of September 1, signed by both judges, had asked the MCI and the state government to allow the GCRG Institute to admit willing students “within the prescribed time frame”. The SC had earlier set August 31 as the cut-off date for admissions to medical colleges in the country. On September 4, justice Shukla made a correction by hand in the order to say, “the respondents (state govt/MCI) shall forthwith make available and permit the students willing to take admission in petitioner college (GCRC) within the prescribed time frame, ie, till 5th Sep 2017”.