CPS Mumbai Lost Validity to Confer Degrees in 2016: Centre Tells HC, Asks Maharashtra to Stop Admissions for 2023 Session
Mumbai: Opposing the continuation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) courses, the Union Government informed the Bombay High Court recently that CPS lost its validity to confer medical degrees in May 2016. Therefore, none of the degrees conferred by CPS should be registered under the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act.
Regarding this, the counsel for the Union Government, Advocate Rui Rodrigues submitted before the High Court a letter issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to the Medical Education and Drugs Department of Maharashtra on July 19.
In the letter, the Union Health Ministry stated that CPS lost its validity to confer degrees in May 2016, when the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 was repealed.
"Therefore, as on date (sic), no course run by CPS, Mumbai should be recognized for the purpose of the NMC Act, 2019 with effect from 09.05.2016," stated the letter, as quoted by HT.
This comes after recently the National Medical Commission (NMC) urged the Union Health Ministry to admission to CPS courses. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC wrote to the Union Health Secretary in this regard and opined that "there should be no admission to the PG medical courses run by CPS, Mumbai in the State of Maharashtra as well as other States/UTs."
Defending its opinion, the Commission referred to the inspection conducted at the CPS institutes by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), which had earlier concluded that admitting students to such institutes would be detrimental to the career of the students and would also affect the health system.
In the letter, the Apex Medical Commission also referred to the proposed CPS counselling by the Maharashtra Government for the academic year 2023 and pointed out that the last date for joining the PG courses for the academic year 2023 was November 30, 2023. NMC pointed out that conducting the admission after the last date of joining would violate the Supreme Court order in the case of Ashish Ranjan Vs. UoI and Ors.
Following this, the Union Health Ministry wrote to the Maharashtra Government's Medical Education Department, asking it to stop admissions in the CPS courses.
As per the latest media report by Hindustan Times, in its letter directed to the Maharashtra Government, the Union Health Ministry said that the NMC being the Apex medical education regulatory body in India, holds the power to give license to the institutes/hospitals other than those listed in the schedule of the NMC Act 2019 to start a course of recognised qualification.
Further, the letter pointed out that the Indian Medical Degrees Act, which empowered the CPS to confer degrees, was repealed in 2016. Therefore, "CPS has lost its validity to confer the degree," the Ministry said in its letter, adding that no course run by the CPS "should be recognised for the purpose of the NMC Act, 2019..."
The letter mentioned that under Section 10A of the erstwhile Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and Section 28 of the NMC Act, a new medical college could be established and new post-graduate courses could only be started with the Central Government and NMC Ethics Board's permission. It also highlighted that the erstwhile Indian Medical Council had already clarified in November 2017 that "no such permission was given to CPS". Therefore, in this backdrop, admissions could not be processed for 10 post-graduate courses offered by CPS.
Apart from this, the Ministry also highlighted the NMC's point that the counselling for the academic year 2023 in hospitals/institutes offering CPS courses was supposed to commence on July 9, 2024. As per the Ministry, this would violate the Supreme Court's order specifying that there could be no admission after the last date of joining, which was November 30, 2023 for the year 2023.
"In view of the aforesaid submissions, request of counselling for the admission for the academic year 2023 may not be considered," the Ministry concluded in its letter.
While the Principal Secretary of the Maharashtra Medical Education Department, Dinesh Waghmare has clarified that they would comply with the Health Ministry's directions, the president of CPS, Ajay Sambre Patil expressed his shock with the decision.
"We have not yet received this letter. On perusal of the letter, one can easily say that it is legally wrong. On the one hand, the respected under secretary says that CPS stands derecognised due to the Repealing and Amendment Act, 2016, and on the other hand, the same department recognises 10 CPS courses in 2018. Also, the same department directs the states and union territories to do admissions in 2021. We will definitely be taking a legal opinion in this matter and do the needful," he told HT.
Hindustan Times has reported that Advocate Rodrigues submitted the letter to the Bombay High Court after a Division bench of the HC comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande last week directed the Centre to clarify its stand on continuing the CPS courses.
The HC bench had passed the order while considering the plea filed by Dr. Suhas Pingle, former President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra. Dr. Pingle had approached the HC challenging the State Government's order issued in March directing the DMER to start admissions to 10 CPS courses for the academic year 2023-2024.
The counsel for Dr. Pingle, Advocate VM Thorat had referred to a Supreme Court order stating that unfilled seats in an academic year cannot be filled after November 31. Further, he also submitted that the order was also against the NMC letter issued earlier this month to the Union Health Secretary highlighting serious concerns regarding the career of the students and public health in general. Apart from this, the letter also referred to the show cause notice issued to CPS for not following the regulations.
Filing the PIL, Dr. Pingle sought a restraining order against CPS barring it from affiliating with or permitting clinics/hospitals to grant admission to students to PG diploma or fellowship courses.
In his plea, Dr. Pingle stated that being a member of the NMC and the former President of IMA Maharashtra, he came to know about small hospitals and clinics that are being recognised by CPS as training and teaching hospitals to confer CPS degrees. He mentioned that such clinics and hospitals did not have essential infrastructure, equipment, teaching and non-teaching staff and no transparency was maintained while admitting the students to various PG courses in conducting the examination and evaluating the answer sheets.
The CPS Controversy:
Established in 1912, CPS Mumbai is an autonomous body that imparts Postgraduate medical education and offers fellowship, diploma, and certificate courses for medical professionals. For the Diploma courses, the tenure is two years; in case of Fellowship, the tenure is three years. After obtaining the qualification granted by CPS Mumbai, the practitioners are allowed to register themselves as specialists in the concerned speciality.
CPS courses have been facing major controversies for a long time. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that referring to significant gaps in the standards or institutes offering CPS courses, the medical education department of Maharashtra previously wrote to the Union Health Ministry asking for its opinion on whether counselling can be conducted for around 1,100 CPS seats.
Writing to the Centre, the department referred to the inspection of the Maharashtra Medical Council conducted last year and how during the inspection, MMC had found "severe deficiencies" in several institutes. In fact, the Central Government has also set up an eight-member committee to look into the matter.
The controversy continued further and then the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) recommended to the Union Health Ministry to withdraw the popular DPB- Diploma in Pathology and Bacteriology, DCH - Diploma in Child Health and DGO- Diploma Gynecology and Obstetrics courses run by CPS from the next academic year.
Also Read: Fact Check: NMC Letter Recognising CPS Courses for Doctors Undergoing Training is FAKE
After NMC, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) also offered rejection to the CPS courses by refusing to bring them under the aegis of the NBE. At this outset, States including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka were reportedly considering decreasing the intake for the CPS courses or discontinuing them.
Last year, the Maharashtra Government then de-recognised the courses offered by CPS and asked the medical institutes and hospitals not to admit students for any of the 26 diplomas or fellowships offered by CPS, Mumbai.
Ultimately the matter reached the Court and filing a plea, CPS argued that 10 courses which were recognised under NMC Act 2019 cannot be de-recognised by the State. Thereafter, in December 2023, the State filed an affidavit in the Bombay HC and stated that it would review its decision.
Thereafter, opposing the plea by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which challenged the State Government's decision to de-recognise the CPS courses, former MMC member Dr. Suhas Pingle had approached the Bombay HC. However, this year, Maharashtra Medical Education Department issued a gazette notification on March 15 reintroducing the 10 CPS courses dermatology, midwifery and gynaecology, gynaecology, pathology, surgery, medicine, ophthalmology and diploma courses in gynaecology and obstetrics, pathology and bacteriology, and child health.
Earlier this year, challenging the three notifications that allowed the institute to continue its 19 medical courses, the former president of the Maharashtra branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and a former member of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) approached the Bombay High Court.
Also Read: CPS courses Row: Bombay HC Asks Parties to Look for Acceptable Solution
