HC stays Transfer of RUHS Medical, Dental Colleges to State

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court recently put a temporary hold on the decision made by the Board of Management of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) to transfer control of its medical and dental colleges to the state government. The court also granted the state administration time to present its response on the matter.

The interim order was passed by a single bench presided over by Justice Sudesh Bansal during a preliminary hearing on a writ petition filed by Dr. Prakriti and several others challenging the university's move.

According to Times of India, petitioners’ counsel, advocate Ajay Shukla, informed the court that the RUHS Board of Management had convened a meeting on January 25, during which a resolution was passed to transfer the management of both the RUHS Medical College and Dental College to the Rajasthan government. The petitioners contended that this decision lacked transparency and would negatively impact the academic autonomy and administrative functioning of the institutions. 

The court, after hearing initial arguments, directed the state government to file its detailed reply and stayed the implementation of the board's decision until further notice. The matter is expected to come up for a more detailed hearing in the coming weeks.

A few days ago, the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan HC issued a contempt notice to RUHS for failing to grant annual affiliation to a college in contravention of a direction issued by a coordinate bench. Amidst the legal troubles, thousands of doctors who cleared the 2024 Medical Officer recruitment exam conducted by RUHS are still awaiting document verification and appointment orders - a delay that has sparked serious concern among the medical fraternity in Rajasthan. Despite being fully prepared and willing to serve in the most challenging and remote areas of the state, the selected doctors allegedly received no official timeline or update on the next steps.