Can medical colleges make provisional MBBS admissions without full approval? Kerala HC gives order

Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court held that interim orders allowing provisional admissions to medical courses cannot be granted as a matter of course, unless the court is fully satisfied that the petitioner has a 'cast-iron case' which is bound to succeed.

The Division Bench comprising Justices Anil K. Narendran and Muralee Krishna S. observed, "In view of the law laid down in the decisions referred to supra, in a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, interim order for provisional admission to Medical or Dental courses should not be given as a matter of course on the writ petition being admitted unless the court is fully satisfied that the petitioner has a cast-iron case which is bound to succeed or the error is so gross or apparent that no other conclusion is possible."

These observations were made by the HC bench while setting aside an interim order of a single-judge bench, which had allowed V.N. Public Health and Educational Trust, which manages the Palakkad Institute of Medical Sciences, to admit a second batch of 150 MBBS students for the academic year 2025-26.

Through the interim order, the single judge had directed the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) and the National Medical Commission (NMC) to permit the petitioner-trust to admit the second batch of 150 MBBS students. Aggrieved by this, NMC approached the Division bench, filing an appeal.

While considering the matter, the division bench observed,

"Unless the institution can provide complete and comprehensive facilities for the training of each candidate admitted in various disciplines, medical education will be incomplete, and Universities would be turning out doctors who are not fully qualified, which would adversely affect the health of the general public," the bench further noted.

After the NMC challenged the interim order, the Division Bench considered whether a High Court exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 can grant an interim order that virtually allows the final relief, particularly in the context of student admissions to medical institutes where regulatory approvals are conditional.

Meanwhile, the Additional Solicitor General of India pointed out that the interim order granted by the Single Judge on 27 August 2025 was the final relief sought in the original petition. Therefore, by the said interim order, the Single Judge virtually allowed the plea, argued the ASG, further contending that such a course is legally impermissible.

Further, the ASG argued that the learned Single Judge committed a grave error in granting the interim order dated 27.08.2025, since the deficiencies pointed out in Palakkad Institute of Medical Sciences, which are fundamental and crucial in nature, cannot be ignored in the interest of medical education and the student community.

When the institution is granted conditional renewal of only 100 MBBS seats, for the academic session 2025-26, the learned Single Judge ought not to have passed an interim order enabling the petitioners to admit the second batch of 150 MBBS students for the said academic session, since it is likely to cause chaos, anarchy and uncertainty in the admission process, argued the ASG.

The Division bench of the HC noted that through the Public Notice dated 01.11.2024, the UGMEB of NMC required all medical colleges having a valid Letter of Permission to for MBBS admission to fill the details/data of respective college/institution on the portal of National Medical Commission for annual declaration, as required under the provisions of National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and the regulations issued by the National Medical Commission from time to time.

Consequently, Palakkad Institute of Medical Sciences was issued a show-cause notice, where various deficiencies were pointed out, based on the evaluation of the Annual Declaration Form as per the Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Regulation 10 of the Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses and Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023 and the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023.

"Therefore, the finding of the learned Single Judge in the interim order dated 27.08.2025 that the deficiencies as per the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 were communicated to the petitioners only on 14.07.2025, which was the last date for verification of data of joined candidates as per Ext.P16 NEET-UG Schedule-2025, and it is at that stage the petitioners were required to comply with the conditions of the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, is *[without any legal basis or factual foundation]. The finding of the learned Single Judge that, if the petitioners are denied permission for filling up 150 MBBS seats for the academic session 2025-26, without giving time for coming over to the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 requirements, prima facie it would be a denial of justice to them, is also *[without any legal basis or factual foundation]," the HC Division Bench noted at this outset.

The Court referred to precedents including Dental Council of India v. Dr. Hedgewar Smruti Rugna Seva Mandal [(2017) 13 SCC 115], Manohar Lal Sharma v. Medical Council of India [(2013) 10 SCC 60], and Assistant Collector of Central Excise v. Dunlop India Ltd. [(1985) 1 SCC 260], and reiterated that courts must exercise extreme caution before issuing interim directions that could disrupt the regulatory framework governing medical education.

"A reading of the interim order dated 27.08.2025 of the learned Single Judge, which is under challenge in this intracourt appeal, would show that the said order is one issued without recording the satisfaction of the court that the petitioner has a cast-iron case which is bound to succeed or that the error in Exts.P1 and P13 orders is so gross or apparent that no other conclusion is possible. Therefore, in view of the law laid down by the Apex Court in the decisions referred to supra, the interim order dated 27.08.2025 of the learned Single Judge cannot be sustained," it observed.

Therefore, allowing the appeal, the HC Single Judge bench set aside the interim order. It held,

"In the case at hand, one of the reliefs sought for in W.P.(C)No.32178 of 2025 is a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to permit the petitioners to admit the second batch of 150 MBBS students during the academic session 2025-26. The interim relief sought for in the writ petition is to permit the petitioners to admit the second batch of 150 MBBS students during the academic session 2025-26 and further direct the respondents to pass appropriate orders for the purpose thereof, pending disposal of the writ petition. Therefore, the interim order granted by the learned Single Judge on 27.08.2025 is the final relief sought for in W.P.(C)No.32178 of 2025. By the said interim order, the learned Single Judge virtually allowed the writ petition, by permitting admission in the second batch of 150 MBBS students, during the academic session 2025-26, as against the approval of 100 MBBS students granted by the 1st appellant Under Graduate Medical Education Board in Ext.P13 order dated 14.07.2025. Such a course is legally impermissible, in view of the law laid down in the decisions."

To view the order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/kerala-hc-order-304019.pdf

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