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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
MAHESH GROVER, MAHABIR SINGH SINDHU, JJ.
N.C. Medical College and Hospital and another - Petitioner
Versus
The Union of India and others - Respondents
CWP NO.13366 OF 2018
Decided On : 07-08-2018
The court quashed the order of the MCI debarring the petitioner college from admitting students for two academic sessions and encashment of Bank guarantee. The court held that the impugned orders suffer from the vice of arbitrariness and deserve to be set aside.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner college was granted the essentiality certificate in the year 2013 and affiliation with the University was also granted in the very same year. The conditional letter of permission was also released in favour of the petitioner enabling it to admit 150 students for the academic session 2016-17 on the directions of the over-sight committee. The MCI undertook a verification inspection on 7/8-11-2016 and pointed out certain deficiencies with a further recommendations to the Central Government whether the college should be debarred from admitting students for two academic sessions 2017-18 and 2018-19 and also recommended that the Bank guarantee furnished by the petitioner be en-cashed.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the MCI, the Hearing Committee, and the Oversight Committee failed to apply their minds independently to the reports of the MCI and the concerns of the writ petitioner while accepting the inspection reports of the MCI. The court also found that the MCI's findings were inconsistent and that the petitioner had submitted compliances to the earlier deficiencies which were pointed out by the MCI itself.
Issues: Whether the action of the MCI was arbitrary and whether the Hearing Committee or the Oversight Committee applied themselves to the reports of the MCI and the concerns of the writ petitioner while accepting the inspection reports of the MCI.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the MCI, the Hearing Committee, and the Oversight Committee failed to apply their minds independently to the reports of the MCI and the concerns of the writ petitioner while accepting the inspection reports of the MCI. The court also found that the MCI's findings were inconsistent and that the petitioner had submitted compliances to the earlier deficiencies which were pointed out by the MCI itself. The court held that the impugned orders suffer from the vice of arbitrariness and deserve to be set aside.
Final Decision: The court quashed the order of the MCI debarring the petitioner college from admitting students for two academic sessions and encashment of Bank guarantee.
MAHESH GROVER, J.
1. This is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India questioning the action of the respondents in declaring the petitioner-College deficient so as to deny them the permission to admit students to the M.B.B.S course for the academic session 2018-19.
2. We may briefly notice the facts.
3. The petitioner-College was granted the essentiality certificate in the year 2013 and affiliation with the University was also granted in the very same year. The conditional letter of permission was also released in favour of the petitioner enabling it to admit 150 students for the academic session 2016-17 on the directions of the over-sight committee. Pursuant to the letter of the over-sight committee dated 11.8.2016 the Medical Council of India (hereinafter referred to as the ‘MCI’) undertook a verification inspection on 7/8-11-2016 and pointed out certain deficiencies with a further recommendations to the Central Government whether the college should be debarred from admitting students for two academic sessions 2017-18 and 2018-19 and also recommended that the Bank guarantee furnished by the petitioner be en-cashed.
4. The petitioner sought a personal hearing as is envisaged under Section 10(A)(4) of the Indian Medical Council Act which was granted but the hearing committee accepted the view of the MCI. These views were also accepted by the Govt. of India vide its order dated 10.8.2017. It would be important to set out the deficiencies observed by the MCI in its assessment of the college on inspection carried out on 9/10-12-2015.
I. Deficiency of faculty is 87.7% as detailed in report.
II. Shortage of Residents is 100% as detailed in report.
III. There is no Medical Superintendent in the affiliated hospital.
IV. Office of Medical Superintendent is much smaller than required.
V. OPD: Separate Registration Counters for OPD/IPD are not available.
VI. OPD was non-operational on 1st day of assessment. Only after arrival of assessors, OG & Orthopaedics OPD were operational and a few patients were seated.
VII. Wards: All wards were not functional. Wards are not as per MSR Regulations. Only in 3 wards, Nursing staff was present without any sign of functionality. No other staff was present. There were no medicines in the wards.
VIII. OPD attendance was 149 on day of assessment. Even this figure, given by institute is inflated. When assessors entered OPD, hardly 10-15 persons were standing in queue for registration. Even at 11:30, only 2-3 persons were there at Registration counter who were looking healthy. In OPD, hardly any patients were seen in waiting areas of OPD or in IPD.
IX. Bed occupancy was Zero % on day of assessment.
X. Casualty attendance was NIL. No records were available of past 24 hours.
XI There were NIL Major & Minor operations on day of assessment.
XII There was NIL Normal Delivery & NIL Caesarean Section on day of assessment.
XIII In Gynaec O.T a list of previous day (i.e 8/12/2015) showing 2 names Veena & Pooja-was provided. These names were found in O.T registers also. However on verification, no such patients were found in wards. Hospital is non-functional since last several months & fake records are being created in registers.
XIV USG workload was NIL. USG machines were covered & sealed by District Competent Authority.
XV. Laboratory investigations workload was NIL
XVI. Casualty: No doctors are posted. Disaster trolley, Crash Cart, Ventilator are not available.
XVII. All ancilliary facilities like Central Clinical laboratories, Casualty, O.T.s, ICUs, Blood Bank, CSSD, Laundry etc. are non-functional since last several months. However, fake records are being generated.
XVIII. There is only 1 mobile X-ray machine against requirement of 2.
XIX No blood has been issued after 28.9.2015.
XX. No record is available in Pharmacy of drugs issued. Stock Management Software is not working.
XXI Only 10 Nurses are
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