Madras HC Directs Private Medical College to Deposit Rs 2.76 Crore Capitation Fees collected from MBBS students

Chennai: Taking action against a Chennai-based private medical college for charging capitation fees without any receipt, the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the institute to deposit the amount of Rs 2.76 crore, which was collected as capitation fees, in a separate account.

The HC bench of Justice R. Suresh Kumar has clarified that the said amount, which was collected from the parents of five MBBS aspirants back in 2019 without any receipt, can be used to provide special scholarship to meritorious students admitted in government or private medical colleges in the academic year 2023-2024.

Further, the bench has clarified that if Sri Muthukumaran Medical College Hospital and Research Institute near Mangadu in Chennai decides agitating the issue by denying the receipt of capitation fees, then it would have to face a Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) inquiry regarding the affidavits filed by the parents of the five students confirming the payment of capitation fees.

These directions were issued by the HC bench while considering the pleas filed by a group of MBBS students seeking permission to complete their medical course. 

Disclosing the details of the fees paid by them to the college, the parents of the students informed the court that they had submitted a one-time payment ranging between Rs 45 lakh to Rs 65 lakh depending on the marks scored by their students in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). This amount was collected apart from the annual fees ranging between Rs 13 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

It was further submitted by the parents of those students that they had to pay the money by pledging their jewels, selling properties, mortgaging their houses, withdrawing their savings, and availing loans to admit their children in the medical course. Recording their submissions, the bench opined that there would be no purpose in discharging the students from the court at this point of time after they had studied for four long years.

The bench further took note of the submission made by the private medical college that nine students admitted by it in the stray vacancies that resulted in the last day of admission had score between 112 and 290 marks. On the other hand, Madras Medical College had admitted two students scoring just 109 and 123 marks in NEET in 2019. The college further referred to the fact that several other private medical colleges had admitted students who scored between 107 and 112 out of 720.

While the High Court has ordered the college to deposit the fees in a separate account, it has also denied any claim for a refund of the capitation fees to the parents of the five MBBS students.  

Such a decision was taken by the HC bench as it noted that the students were admitted to the institute on the last date of admission on August 30, 2019, even though their names had not been sponsored by the Selection Committee of the Directorate of Medical Education.

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However, taking note of the fact that the concerned MBBS students had already completed four years of studies, the High Court allowed the students to complete their course.

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the HC bench further clarified that the institute should deposit the amount of Rs 2.7 crore with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from 2019, in a separate account that will be opened jointly by the Secretary of the Selection Committee of DME as well as the medical university.

The Daily adds that the Court has further granted liberty to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for taking required action against the private medical college for admitting altogether nine students while violating the rules back in the year 2019.

While disposing of the pleas filed by seven of the nine students seeking permission to complete their MBBS course, the HC bench further took note of the fact that five of those nine students had been admitted in an unauthorised manner in the government quota seats.

The bench issued directions to the institute to surrender five management quota seats for the academic year 2023-2024 and allow it to be filled through government quota this year. 

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