MBBS students move Karnataka High Court seeking transfer to a govt college

The High Court of Karnataka has ordered notice to the state government, Union government and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) in a petition filed by 99 students of GR Medical College, Mangaluru.

The petitioners, all first-year MBBS students, have sought a direction for issuance of registration numbers to appear in the examination scheduled from October 31, 2023 and also transfer to any government medical college so as to enable them to continue their studies.

The petitioners stated that they were allotted seats in the second mop-up round for academic year 2022-23 and since GR Medical College was in the seat matrix, they believed that it has got all the required approvals as per National Medical Council (NMC) norms. According to the petitioners, it was after the admission that they came to know about the disapproval by the NMC for the college’s proposal to admit 150 students. This was based on the assessment by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board. The petitioners claimed that they were kept in the dark about the stoppage of admission for the year 2022-23.

“Since the NMC inspection report has exposed that the GR Medical College does not have the requisite faculty, clinical material and infrastructure, mandated by the NMC, the said medical college is not legally entitled to impart medical education. In view of this the petitioners need to be transferred to colleges where they can be given the necessary training required to be given as per the NMC Regulations,” the petition stated.

The petitioners further stated that since it was Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), a state government entity which had given them admission in the GR Medical College, it is the sole responsibility of the state government to transfer them to a government medical college for continuing their medical education. With the imminent closure of GR Medical College in view of the direction for stopping admissions for 2023-24, the petitioners have claimed that they are left high and dry and there is a need for the court to interfere in the matter by issuing suitable directions to the state government to protect their interest.

A division bench comprising Justice G Narendar and Justice Vijayakumar A Patil also ordered notice to National Medical Council (NMC), Medical Assessment and Rating Board, KEA and GR Medical College among others and adjourned the hearing to September 20, 2023.