Kerala HC stays NMC order on MBBS fee refunds, allows medical colleges to continue existing fee collection for 3 months
Kerala High Court
Kochi: A Single bench of the Kerala High Court recently stayed, for three months, the operation of a letter issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) directing medical colleges to refund MBBS fees collected from the students.
The medical colleges were reportedly collecting fees for an additional six-month period. NMC issued the direction to the institute on the grounds that the duration of the MBBS course is 4.5 years and not five years.
However, a single bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Justice P V Kunhikrishnan has stayed the operation of the NMC direction and allowed the petitioner-colleges- including Jubilee Mission Medical College, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, and Pushpagiri Medical College- to continue collecting the fees fixed by the fee regulatory committee for now.
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the HC bench passed the direction while considering an interlocutory application filed by the Secretary of Kolenchery Medical College and others, challenging the communication dated June 6 issued to the Director of Medical Education (DME), Kerala, directing it to take immediate measures to refund the excess fees to the students.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that, issuing a public notice on April 7, 2026, NMC had strictly directed all medical colleges to charge fees only for the prescribed academic duration of four and a half years.
The Commission had issued this direction after noting that certain medical colleges under its purview were charging fees for the entire duration of five years or five and a half years from the MBBS students.
NMC had stated in the notice that any instance of non-compliance with the directive would be viewed seriously, and appropriate action will be taken as per existing statutory and regulatory provisions. The Commission had clarified that such practices were not consistent with the prescribed academic structure of the MBBS programme and they result in charging fees for periods that do not constitute academic teaching.
Subsequently, the petitioner-colleges had moved the Kerala High Court, and those writ petitions are still pending before a single bench. Meanwhile, NMC on June 6 issued a further communication to the DME asking it to take steps to ensure the refund of excess fees. Following this, the petitioner-colleges filed the Interlocutory Application.
It was submitted by the Kolenchery Medical College that it was established in 2002, and since 2007, fees had been collected strictly in accordance with the rates fixed by the fee regulatory committee. It was also pointed out that 19 batches of students had graduated from the college during this period and the implementation of the NMC's direction would impose a substantial financial burden of approximately Rs 44.28 crore on the institution.
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