CPS Mumbai Courses Derecognition: SC allows 962 students to appear for exams, bars further admissions till decision
New Delhi: Granting relief, the Supreme Court has directed the authorities to conduct exams for 962 students who underwent postgraduate medical courses offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS), Mumbai.
The bench has also barred further admissions till a court decision. "We make it clear that these 962 students shall be permitted to appear in exam despite any objection from the National Medical Commission. In peculiar facts and circumstances, we have passed this matter. The main matter shall be notified next Wednesday for final appearing. Needless to clarify the exams are for all four category of students. We further make it clear that there shall not be further admission till we decide the petition in the petitioner's college," the apex court ordered.
Despite completing their course long ago, these students could not appear for the examination after the Bombay High Court upheld the derecognition of all the CPS courses.
After the derecognition, several petitions were filed seeking relief. Last year, on September 12, the Supreme Court had requested the intervention of the Attorney General for India to arrive at a viable solution to secure the future of these students.
On November 13, 2025, the Court had divided the aggrieved students into three categories. Category I included 852 students who were enrolled up to the academic year 2022-2023. Category II comprised 239 students enrolled in the academic year 2023-2024, and the last category comprised those who were enrolled before 2022-2023.
In November 2025, for 852 students who had been affected due to the derecognition of all postgraduate medical courses offered by the CPS Mumbai, the Central Government had agreed before the Apex Court to allow them two final opportunities to clear their final examinations.
It was decided that after clearing their final examinations, they would get enrolled with the State and National Medical Councils. However, this relief was not extended to category II students because those were unauthorised admissions. The interest of category III students was also met.
According to a Live Law report, during the hearing recently, Senior Advocates Vikas Singh and Vibha Datta Makhija raised the issue of Category IV students, who have also completed their course but have not appeared for the examination. Taking note of this, the top court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran granted relief to them by allowing them to appear in the examination.
"Our order dated 13 November 2025 is relevant for the purpose of the order we propose to pass today. As per our order referred to above, we classified the students into three categories. We have also recorded in our order dated November 13 that all students in the interest of all students in category I are well protected. We have also recorded students falling in category II, the CPS has admitted them despite the letter from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. So far as students in category III, they have completed their course long back. Today, we have 962 students falling in category IV. They have also completed the course, but all that is left is the examination. Irrespective of the merits of the matter, insofar as the challenge to the High Court's order, we will hear them and decide the legality on its own merits. However, we firmly believe that students should be relieved from this. In such cases, we direct that students from category IV be permitted to appear in the exam, which may be fixed by the authority. Let them fix and inform the students. We make it clear that these 962 students shall be permitted to appear in exam despite any objection from the National Medical Commission. In peculiar facts and circumstances, we have passed this matter. The main matter shall be notified next Wednesday for final appearing. Needless to clarify the exams are for all four category of students. We further make it clear that there shall not be further admission til we decide the petition in the petitioner's college," ordered the Apex Court.
Background:
Last year, the Bombay High Court passed an order cancelling the CPS recognition. Following this, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research stopped conducting further exams, leaving students who had already completed their courses but had not taken the exams in a difficult situation.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that over 2,300 postgraduate CPS doctors were facing uncertainty as their final examinations for specialist qualification had not been conducted for more than a year. On March 5, 2026, a large group of affected doctors staged a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan, demanding that the state government and the medical education department conduct their long-delayed postgraduate examinations.
The Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) derecognised all the courses offered by CPS on August 16, 2024, on the grounds of failure to comply with the regulatory mechanism under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the plea filed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) challenging the derecognition of many postgraduate diploma courses that were deleted from the schedule of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), 1965. On the same day, the High Court bench had allowed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging permission given to CPS to conduct 10 additional PG courses. The PIL was filed before the High Court by a Mumbai-based doctor, Suhas Pingle.
Following this, the matter came for consideration before the Supreme Court in 2025. The Attorney General for India had informed the Apex Court that a viable solution would be arrived at to secure the future of students after the Bombay High Court upheld the derecognition of all PG medical courses offered by CPS Mumbai. Taking note of the issue, the Supreme Court on September 12, 2025, requested the intervention of the Attorney General for India to arrive at a viable solution in this regard.
