FIR not enough: Telangana HC tells NMC to reconsider medical college permission denial

Hyderabad: In a relief to a private medical college, the Telangana High Court recently directed the National Medical Commission (NMC), Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), and others to reconsider the decision denying permission for a medical college for the academic year 2025-2026.

The Court has asked the medical college to approach the appellate authority of NMC, and the Commission has been directed by the Court to dispose of the matter within 10 days.

Earlier this year, the Apex Medical Commission had declined permission to the medical college after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against one of the trustees of the medical college.

Even though earlier the High Court had dismissed the petition filed by the Medicare Educational Trust and Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences, Warangal, on the grounds of maintainability, while considering the appeal filed by the college, the HC bench, while relying on a previous Supreme Court ruling in a similar matter, ruled that the mere registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against an institute was not sufficient grounds to withhold a "letter of permission".

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The college had been successfully running its operations since the academic year 2022-2023. However, this year, NMC declined to grant permission to the institute, citing unrectified deficiencies and the registration of the CBI FIR in June 2025 against one of the trustees of the medical college for allegedly attempting to bribe the Commission's officials.

As per the latest media report by the Indian Express, the counsel for the appellant, i.e. the medical college trust, argued that while NMC highlighted deficiencies, they were not a valid reason for outright denial of permission. It was also argued that the pendency of an FIR should not automatically lead to the withholding of permission. The counsel argued that five more medical colleges across the country were also denied permission by the Commission on the same grounds, and the respective high courts have granted some of them relief.

The counsel for the medical college trust relied on the Supreme Court ruling in the case of National Medical Commission vs. Madhuri Seva Nyas, where a similar observation was made on July 21, 2025. The Apex Court bench had noted in this case that an FIR alone was not a sufficient or valid ground for withholding permission if the college otherwise met the required standards.

Further, the counsel also claimed that NMC engaged in "selective treatment" while referring to the instances of two other medical colleges. It was highlighted that Dr Patnam Mahender Institute of Medical Sciences and CMR Institute of Medical Sciences, which allegedly had identical deficiencies, were granted conditional renewals by NMC for the same academic year.

On the other hand, the counsel for NMC argued that the deficiencies found in the medical college were severe and widespread and they included a shortage of faculty, tutors, and residents, as well as low outpatient attendance and a bed occupancy rate of less than the recommended 80 per cent.

Further, the NMC's counsel highlighted the gravity of the bribery allegations and stated that the appellants had attempted to bribe the NMC assessors who were inspecting the medical college.

After taking note of the arguments, the HC bench directed the medical college to file an appeal with the NMC's appellate authority within three days, without reference to the FIR.

Further, the Court issued a direction to NMC, the appellate authority, to strictly adhere to the NMC’s regulations, including the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations 2023 (MSMER 2023).

The HC bench mandated that the appellate authority pass an order on the appeal within 10 days of its filing, without being influenced by the observations made by the single judge who had previously dismissed the college's petition.

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