Point of Law: Education and University - Remove college from matrix - Right of petitioner no.1-College to take admission of students vested in it was wrongly denied by impugned notice and as such same cannot be sustained in law - Notice issued by Office of ADG(ME), Govt. of India, Directorate General Health Services, Medical Counselling Committee quashed and set aside.

JUDGMENT :

Rajesh Shankar, J.

1. The judgment is being pronounced today through virtual mode.

2. The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the notice under Ref. U-11011/04/2020/14-MEC dated 06.11.2020 (Annexure-28 to the writ petition) issued by the office of ADG(ME), Government of India, Directorate General of Health Services, Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), New Delhi, whereby Manipal Tata Medical College, Jamshedpur-petitioner no.1 has been removed from the seat matrix for the first round of counselling of undergraduate seats being held in pursuance of the NEET-2020 Examination.

Factual Matrix of the Case

3. The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (in short MAHE) (the petitioner no.2) and Tata Steel Limited (TSL)-the respondent no.7 created a consortium to set up a premier institution for medical education and training at Baridih, Jamshedpur (petitioner no.1 herein) in accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Notification No. MCI-34(41)2019-Med./112859 dated 13.05.2019. The Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Government of Jharkhand granted essentiality certificate to the petitioner no.2 on 28.06.2019 as required under Regulation 2(3) of the Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999. The petitioner no.2 as a consortium leader submitted an application on 01.07.2019 before the Secretary General, Board of Governors, in supersession of the Medical Council of India, New Delhi for establishment of new medical college at Baridih Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) with an intake of 150 MBBS seats commencing from the Academic Session 2020-21, stating that the respondent no.7 is a consortium with it. Thereafter, the Department of Higher, Technical Education and Skill Development, Government of Jharkhand also granted no objection certificate for establishment of an Off-campus Centre of the petitioner no.2 vide its letter dated 04.10.2019. The inspection team of the Board of Governors (BoG), Medical Council of India inspected the College and submitted its report pointing out certain deficiencies and the said report was forwarded to the petitioner no.2 vide e-mail on 22.01.2020 asking it to provide point-wise compliance report within thirty days. The petitioner-College through the consortium leader, MAHE, submitted comprehensive compliance report stating therein that all the deficiencies as pointed out were redressed. Thereafter, a compliance assessment of the College was conducted by the assessors appointed by the BoG only on 09th and 10th of September, 2020 who asked to furnish certain documents including undertaking in respect of providing all infrastructural facilities as well as Bank Guarantees of required amount in favour of Medical Council of India from the petitioner no.2 through e-mail dated 21.09.2020 in order to process the application and for issuance of formal letter of permission (LoP). Accordingly, the petitioner no.2 vide letter dated 22.09.2020 submitted its requisite undertaking and bank guarantees of an amount of Rs.24 Crores in total. A letter of permission in supersession of the Medical Council of India was issued by BoG vide letter No. MCI-34(41)(E-17)/2019-Med./123080 dated 24.09.2020 under section 10-A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and the petitioner no.1 was granted permission for 150 seats for the MBBS Course to be offered by it in the academic session 2020-21. The said permission was granted initially for a period of one year, which was to be renewed on yearly basis after verification of achievement of annual targets as prescribed in section 10A of the said Act. In the meantime the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 was repealed and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (in short the Act, 2019) was notified on 24.09.2020 making the respondent no.5 as the successor-in-interest of the Medical Council of India including its subsidiaries or owned trusts. The petitioner no.2 was conferred Institution of Eminence (IoE) status by the Ministry of Education, Government