Karnataka High Court penalises Ayurvedic Colleges for unauthorised admissions

The colleges had moved the HC with different petitions seeking approval for admissions made against unfilled seats and permission for those students to continue their studies.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 3 crore upon three Ayurvedic colleges for admitting students without allotment letters from the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) in the academic years 2022-23 and 2023-24. The cost will have to be paid in favour of the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund, a division bench said.

The colleges imposed cost are TMAE Society Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Shivamogga (Rs 1.5 crore), Ramakrishna Medical Hospital and Research Centre, Yelahanka, Bengaluru (Rs 75 lakh) and Achutha Ayurvedic Medical College, Bengaluru (Rs 75 lakh).

The colleges had moved the High Court with different petitions seeking approval for admissions made against unfilled seats and permission for those students to continue their studies. These colleges had admitted students who were not routed through KEA counselling and hence the admissions are in violation of Regulation 5(7)(i) of the NCISM Regulations. The college managements argued that admitting students against unfilled seats did not violate any legal provisions and that admission of students is their fundamental right.

On the other hand, the advocate for KEA submitted that the students admitted by the colleges appear to be those who blocked their seats with the colleges to get themselves admitted just before the closure of the last date of admission. It was further submitted that in the event of any relief to be granted, the academic credentials and NEET eligibility of these students have to be verified and only such students who qualify the admission criteria may be considered for admission.  

A division bench comprising Justices DK Singh and Venkatesh Naik T rejected the submissions made by the petitioners observing that the admissions were against Regulations 5(7)(i), 5(9), and 5(10) of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicines (Minimum Standards of Undergraduate Ayurveda Education (MSAE)) Regulations, 2022. The petitioner institutions may have the right to admit the students against the sanctioned intake, but the admissions have to be made only in accordance with the MSAE Regulations, and the management of the colleges is not entitled to make admissions on their own, the bench said.

“However, to save the interest of the students admitted by the petitioner colleges over and above the allotment made by the KEA, we direct the petitioner-colleges to furnish the details of all the students admitted before the KEA within a period of ten days from today for verification by the KEA about the eligibility of the students admitted by the petitioner-colleges. The KEA will examine the credentials of each student to find out whether such a student was eligible for admission or not. List of all the eligible students should be forwarded to NCISM as well as RGUHS by the KEA, and admission of only those students shall be approved by the said authorities,” the bench said.