SC cautions HCs on medical college admission

'No interim orders for unapproved colleges'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cautioned high courts in the country from issuing interim orders in cases of medical admissions when the college in question has not been granted approval by the authorities.

“Such interim orders are likely to cause chaos, anarchy and uncertainty. And, there is no reason for creating such situations. There is no justification or requirement,” a two-judge bench presided over by Justice Dipak Misra said.

‘Avert disaster’

The court said judges should avert ‘disaster’ and must not be ‘swayed by own convictions’ when there are precedents to follow.

The bench said that by such orders, an institution which has been found to be deficient by expert bodies gets a premium to admit students, who will be anxious to get admissions with a hope that eventually the college would obtain a propitious certificate.

The court was hearing an appeal by the Dental Council of India, which had challenged an order passed by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court (HC).

The HC, by an interim order in May 2016, had allowed a Maharashtra-based college to start MDS course ‘at own risk’  though the council as well as the central government had noted deficiencies in the institution.

The apex court set aside the HC order, saying that no permission could be given to an institution which had not been granted approval.

However, taking note of the fact that three students had been admitted by the college for academic session 2016-17 and an approval was also granted for the subsequent session, the bench said that the college would have to adjust the three seats for 2017-18.

The court also directed the college to deposit Rs 30 lakh within eight weeks in its registry.

The bench also clarified that the money will not be extracted from the students in any manner and fixed the case in July to consider how this amount will be utilised.DH News Service