On Thursday, the Supreme Court directed a Medical college in Lucknow to refund Rs. 10 lakh to 150 students as compensation. These students were admitted to the MBBS course without formal permission from the Government. The Supreme Court also slapped a fine of Rs. 25 lakh to be paid to the SC registry.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) barred 32 institutions from conducting admissions for lacking proper facilities. The institute run by the GCRG Memorial Trust in Lucknow was also among the barred colleges.
The High Court ignored the Medical Council’s order and allowed admissions even though the college lacked basic necessities, proper infrastructure, faculty and even adequate clinical materials.
During an appeal filed by the MCI, the SC Bench stated, “We really fail to fathom the manner in which the High Court has misconstrued our order and passed the final order for 2017 to 18. We are issuing notice only to test the propriety of the order and also if the institution is eligible to get the renewal of letter of permission for 2018 to 19.”
A retired judge from the Orissa HC, I. M. Quddusi has been arrested by the CBI. He is being accused of promising favorable orders from the Apex Court to the promoters of Private Medical Colleges. Quddusi is also involved in offering “legal guidance” on how to get around the admission ban.
The Apex Court dubbed the incident as “most unfortunate” and hinted at taking administrative action against the college. The college has been barred from admitting students for the next academic year of 2018 to 19.
Rajeev Dhavan, a Senior Advocate said the institution should not be punished for the High Court’s wrong verdict. The Supreme Court Bench seemed to remain firm in their decision to prosecute the institution.
FIRs have been lodged against 2 IAS officers in Puducherry for allegedly offering medical seats at unreasonable rates. The deserving candidates were denied seats while the rich unqualified were being accepted.
This case has clearly exposed the rot and corruption in medical colleges as well as the Indian Government.
