180 medical students face uncertainty as apex court cancels Kerala order

NEW DELHI: The admission of 180 students of two medical colleges in Kerala, which allegedly involved irregularities, stands cancelled after the Supreme Court Wednesday struck down an executive order by the state government.

Admission of the 180 undergraduate students -- in Kannur Medical College and Karuna Medical College -- was cancelled by the top court last year. But the state government passed an executive order seven months later to overturn the court’s order and reinstated the admissions following requests from the students.

In April, the state Assembly unanimously passed a bill to replace the ordinance.

The top court today declared the ordinance ‘ultra vires’, meaning outside the government’s jurisdiction, and against the orders of the high court and the Supreme Court.

In March last year, the top court had cancelled the admissions, sending a strong message to country’s private professional colleges that there would be zero tolerance if irregularities were found in admissions.

The state’s ordinance was challenged by the Medical Council of India, which argued that it broke the principle of equality.

The admissions of 30 students from Karuna Medical College and 150 from Kannur Medical College, were admissions were cancelled by Admissions Supervisory Committee for private colleges. The Supreme Court had upheld the decision as the two institutions failed to follow procedures. The court also said some of the documents submitted for admissions appeared to be forged.

Admissions in private medical colleges are being keenly watched by the authorities after repeated instances of irregularities. In September last year, admissions of more than 700 students in seven private medical colleges and deemed universities of Puducherry were scrapped by the Medical Council of India for irregularities. The council said the students had been admitted last year in violation of rules under management quota.