The Supreme Court has dismissed the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) petitions, imposing a cost of Rs 10 lakh, and emphasized that as an organ of the State, the NMC is expected to act fairly and reasonably
The case involved a dispute regarding the withdrawal of approval for a medical college to increase its seats from 150 to 250 for the 2023-24 academic year.
A bench consisting of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan observed that the NMC’s conduct appeared to harass the institution, which has been functional for 18 years. The court labeled the petitions as an abuse of the legal process, criticizing the NMC for making the institution repeatedly seek court permissions despite its longstanding operational history.
The NMC had appealed the Kerala High Court’s August 13 decision, which directed the medical college to submit an undertaking and required the commission to grant permission upon receiving it. The Supreme Court reviewed the case and noted that on February 27, 2023, the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) had initially approved the increase in seats, but the approval was withdrawn on April 5, 2023. The court found that the case being sub-judice was not sufficient grounds for this withdrawal.
Additionally, the bench noted that the Consent of Affiliation (COA) had been granted to the college on August 12, 2024, and the NMC should have sought clarification from the court if it had concerns. The court criticized the NMC for requiring the medical college to navigate legal channels unnecessarily and emphasized that no deficiencies were found, except for the absence of a COA.
The court ordered the NMC to pay Rs 5 lakh to the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association for library purposes and Rs 5 lakh to the Supreme Court Bar Association Advocates Welfare Fund within four weeks.
(With inputs from agency)
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