NMC moves Gujarat HC against stay on MBBS ban at Swaminarayan Medical College

Ahmedabad: The National Medical Commission (NMC), which declared 'zero' MBBS seats to Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kalol, citing serious deficiencies, has approached a division bench of the Gujarat High Court after a single judge temporarily lifted the ban on MBBS admissions at Swaminarayan University for the current academic year.

Medical Dialogues reported in July this year that the apex regulatory body had stopped the Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Science and Research in Kalol from admitting new MBBS students. The move followed a CBI FIR named a university official in an alleged NMC-related scam concerning the authorisation of medical colleges.

The commission also pointed to irregularities in faculty attendance recorded through Aadhaar-based biometric systems, claiming the college was short of 54 teachers out of the required 144.

Also read- NMC allots ZERO MBBS seats at 9 Medical Colleges

Challenging the NMC decision, the university approached the Gujarat High Court seeking legal recourse. It argued that although the FIR mentioned the institute, the CBI’s chargesheet did not name the university. It also said that the alleged faculty deficiencies were within permissible limits, and there was no reason for NMC to stop MBBS admissions.

In September, Justice Nikhil Kariel issued a notice to the NMC and sought its response. The court also put the NMC’s Undergraduate Medical Education Board's July 18 order and a later order passed by its appellate committee on September 10 on hold.

The Swaminarayan Medical College in Kalol was granted conditional approval for 150 MBBS seats, but only under strict conditions that the institute must guarantee that its faculty members maintain the required attendance levels.

The judge had directed the college dean to submit an undertaking assuring that all faculty members would have over 75% attendance on working days. This undertaking must be filed by September 19, 2025.

"The petitioner, through the dean of Petitioner no.2 – College – shall file an undertaking before this court in the present petition as regards the institution undertaking to maintain attendance as per the required norms i.e. more than 75% of working days for all faculty members. Such undertaking shall be filed by Sep 19, 2025," stated the order.

Now, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has filed an appeal before a division bench of the Gujarat high court challenging a single judge's order of temporarily staying NMC's decision to halt MBBS admissions at Swaminarayan University for this academic year, reports TOI.

Also read- NMC grants conditional approval to Swaminarayan Medical College Kalol