EX-IMA prez moves HC to derecognise CPS courses

MUMBAI: Concerned over the lack of infrastructure, equipment, and teaching and nonteaching staff for students, the former president of the Maharashtra branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday approached the Bombay high court (HC) challenging three notifications that allowed the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) to continue 19 medical courses offered by it.

In the PIL filed through advocate Madhav Thorat, Dr Suhas Pingle, also a former member of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), has sought an order restraining CPS from affiliating or permitting any clinics and hospitals to admit students for its post-graduate diploma or fellowship courses.

Dr Suhas Pingle stated that he recently learnt that clinics are affiliated with CPS as their training and teaching hospitals for the conferment of their medical degrees. These clinics and hospitals, he said, lacked essential infrastructure, teaching and non-teaching staff, and equipment and added that no transparency was maintained while admitting the students to various postgraduate courses and in conducting examinations and evaluation of answer sheets.

He has challenged the validity of the notifications issued in 2017 and 2018, contending that those notifications allowed 9 PG courses offered by CPS at 5 specific medical colleges, but subsequently, the 5 colleges have stopped admitting CPS students and have started their own MD or MS courses. Therefore, he claimed that the CPS courses have been derecognised even in these 5 colleges and the notifications were required to be struck down. Dr Pingle has challenged the March 15, 2024, notification, which re-recognised 10 CPS courses. He has also objected to the decision to allow CPS to continue the 10 courses. The PIL is next scheduled for April 22.