Annual litigations over medical admissions need to be deterred: SC

NEWDELHI: Annual litigation concerning medical admissions builds pressure on students and increases their anxiety, the Supreme Court has said while stressing the need to have deterrent guidelines to minimise cases filed around this time of the year.

The concern came from a bench of justices SA Bobde and LN Rao when it was hearing petitions on Friday by Kerala-based institutions challenging the Centre’s refusal to permit them from conducting classes in the 2017-18 academic year. Private medical colleges complained the permission was denied due to “minimal” deficiencies.

During the hearing, the bench spoke of how differences between colleges and authorities over permissions leads to a spurt in litigation, leaving students in a lurch. Even in the case before it, the fate of 400 aspirants was at stake.

SC is flooded with petitions filed by private institutions around admission time. These cases get instituted when colleges do not get approval from medical regulator – Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Centre for failing to meet the standards MCI has prescribed.

“In these writ petitions, this court was compelled to take note of the annual recurrence of this kind of litigation which creates high pressure and anxiety for the students, medical institutions and all concerned,” the court said in its written order.

After discussing the issue with lawyers representing the government, MCI and colleges, the bench said: “..it is high time some deterrent measures be laid down for the colleges and the state authorities from doing acts which generate such last minute litigation.” SC will now take up the matter in December.

The bench allowed the colleges to continue with the academic year. They were directed to remove the “deficiencies” within a reasonable time period.