Restoration of MNR Medical College recognition: Supreme Court issues notice Centre, NMC

New Delhi: Taking note of the plea challenging the non-recognition of Telangana-based MNR Medical College, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Central Government and the National Medical Commission (NMC) seeking its responses on the matter.

The top court was moved the petition filed by Simhadri Ravi Shankar and 37 other 2021-22 batch of students pursuing different PG medical courses at the MNR medical college located at Fasalwadi in Sangareddy district.

A bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of senior lawyer Siddharth Bhatnagar and advocate Tanvi Dubey that the recognition of MNR Medical College and Hospital in Telangana has not been restored by the NMC despite a specific order of the high court plunging the future of students pursuing PG courses there into uncertainty.

The crisis concerning the medical seats in Telangana began after the National Medical Commission (NMC) cancelled MBBS and PG medical admission in three private medical colleges in Telangana following a surprise inspection. It resulted in a huge decrease in the total number of seats. In the case of MNR Medical College and Hospital, both MBBS and PG admissions had been cancelled. NMC had also cancelled PG medical seats in Mahavir Institute of Medical Sciences.

Besides the recognition for MBBS admissions, MNR Medical College lost PG seats in specialist courses like pathology, anatomy, ophthalmology and biochemistry.

Also Read: Telangana HC rejects MNR Medical College medicos plea seeking transfer to other institutes

This came after the Union Health Ministry carried out a surprise inspection on 12 medical colleges in 5 different cities and shut them down after reportedly finding that they were allegedly not conforming to the prescribed minimum standard requirement. Hence, the medicos had to be relocated to other medical institutes.

When the medicos had approached the High Court bench, the Court had directed the authorities of Kaloji Narayan Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) and private medical colleges not to insist on payment of fees from those students who have been accommodated in new collages as a part of relocation until the central government takes its final decision.

However, last year MNR medical college finally secured permission from the concerned authorities to run the college and the transferred students had been ordered to join back their respective colleges. Meanwhile, pointing out the inadequacies of the infrastructure of MNR medical college, the medicos approached the High Court and prayed to be allowed to relocate, but the HC bench rejected the plea.

Even though the court had asked the students to start attending classes, their problems did not end. Therefore, around 20 PG medicos camped outside the NMC’s office in March demanding the validity of medical seats.

Now, aggrieved petitioner medicos approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the apex medical commission to pass a specific order restoring the recognition as per the NMC Act, 2019 in favour of MNR for the PG course for the academic year 2021-22 within a specified time period not exceeding one week. The plea, alternatively, seeks a direction to the NMC to reallocate the PG students of MNR college of 2021-22 academic session to some other medical college.

“The petitioners are grossly aggrieved by the alleged inaction on part of the NMC of not providing a specific order restoring the recognition as per the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 in favour of the MNR college for the PG course for academic year 2021-22, in terms of the November 28, 2022 order of the High Court,” one of the counsels representing the medicos stated before the top court, as quoted by The Press Trust of India.

The plea said the doctors have been left in the lurch due to NMC’s inaction.

“It is most humbly submitted that the candidates are shocked to note that despite an oral assurance given to the students by NMC on 27.03.2023, while the SLP filed by NMC … was heard, NMC has till date not complied with the direction passed by the Telangana High Court,” the plea, filed through Dubey, mentioned.

The students have been suffering for almost one year without any fault on their part, it said, adding “Unfortunately, even after such a long delay and even after a specific direction of the High Court, there is no order of renewal of recognition yet.”

To view the Supreme Court notice, click here