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2018 Supreme(All) 2592
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
PANKAJ MITHAL, MUKHTAR AHMAD, JJ.
Yogender Yadav and Ors. – Appellants
Versus
Union of India and Ors. – Respondents
Writ-C No. 16005 of 2018
Decided On : 12-07-2018
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mohit Singh, Manu Khare, Ambarish Chatterji and Anoop Trivedi
For the Respondents: A.S.G.I., Amit Mahajan, Avanish Mishra, C.S.C., Dileep Kumar Shukla, Mahendra Pratap, Tej Prakash and Vivek Verma
The main legal point established is that admissions to the MBBS course must adhere to prescribed dates, merit-based criteria, and natural justice principles in passing orders with civil consequences.
Headnote:
Admission - MBBS Course - Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 - Section 10A, Section 19A, Section 33 - The judgment discusses the legality of the admissions to the MBBS course 2015-16 at a medical college and the impugned order of the Medical Council of India (MCI) directing the discharge of the students. The court examines the admissions process, the timing of admissions, fee payments, and adherence to merit lists. The court concludes that the impugned order adversely affects the students' right to continue their medical course and quashes the order.
Fact of the Case:
Students of MBBS course 2015-16 at a medical college challenged the MCI's order to discharge them due to alleged irregularities in their admissions. The students claimed they were admitted in accordance with the law and without any illegality.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the admissions were made within the prescribed date, in accordance with merit, and the non-deposit of the entire fee at the time of admission did not vitiate the admissions. The court also held that the impugned order adversely affected the students' right to continue their medical course.
Issues: The issues were whether the admissions were beyond time, not in accordance with the law, and vitiated due to non-deposit of the full fees at the time of admission.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the admissions were within the prescribed date, in accordance with merit, and the non-deposit of the entire fee at the time of admission did not vitiate the admissions. The court also emphasized the importance of natural justice in passing orders with civil consequences.
Final Decision: The court quashed the impugned order dated 22.11.2016 passed by the Assistant Secretary, MCI, and allowed the writ petitions with no orders as to costs.
JUDGMENT :
1. All the above three petitions have been preferred by the Students of MBBS course 2015-16 of the K.D. Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Mathura against the order dated 22.11.2016 of the Assistant Secretary, Medical Council of India (in short MCI) by which directions have been issued to the Deen/Principal of the above Medical College to discharge all the students admitted for the Academic Year 2015-16.
2. The aforesaid order was not served upon the petitioners by the MCI and they allege to have acquired knowledge of the said order in July 2017 when the Medical College started causing hindrance in their continuous studies. The order was actually served upon the petitioners sometime in August 2017 specifically on 11.8.2017 by which time the petitioners have passed out the first year course and were perusing the studies of the second year course.
3. In the first writ petition 89 students have challenged the above order. In the second writ petition only one student has come forward to challenge it whereas in the third writ petition as many as 5 have joined together to challenge the above order. Thus, in all 95 students out of 150 students admitted in MBBS course 2015-16 in the aforesaid Medical College have challenged the order dated 22.11.2016 of the MCI.
4. The MCI by the impugned order has directed to discharge the students basically on the following three counts;
(1) that the admission were made on 5th October, 2015 after the cut of date of 13th September, 2015;
(2) the candidates were charged notional fee or they have failed to deposit the requite fee at the time of admission meaning thereby that the admissions were unusual and may be by charging capitation fee; and
(3) admissions were made from the waiting list and not in order of merit.
5. We have heard Sri. Shashi Nandan, Senior counsel assisted by Sri. Anoop Trivedi and Sri. Manu Khare for the petitioners; Sri. Tej Prakash for the Union of India; Learned Standing counsel for the State of U.P; Sri. Amit Jaiswal for K.D. Medical College, Hospital and Research Center, Mathura; Sri. Avinash Mishra for the MCI; Sri. Mahendra Pratap for Director General Medical Education and Training U.P.; Sri. Vivek Verma for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra; and Sri. Amit Mahajan for Unaided Medical College Welfare Association (in short UPCMET-2015).
6. Learned counsel for the parties agreed for final disposal of all the three petitions on the basis of pleadings exchanged in the second and third petition as the facts in all the petitions are common and the challenge is also to a common order on identical grounds.
7. The petitioners contend that all 150 of them were admitted in the MBBS course 2015-16 of the Medical College in accordance with law as per the directions of the Supreme court and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi (in short Ministry) on or before 30th September, 2015 after due counseling and allotment/allocation letters issued to them by the UPCMET responsible for conducting the counseling and as such there is no illegality in the process of their admission. They are all bona fide students who are pursuing their courses after paying the requisite fee. The order impugned has been passed affecting their career without giving any notice or opportunity of hearing and that the order fails to point out the exact Rule or any Regulation which may have been violated in admitting the petitioners in the said course. The passing of the impugned order after 14 months of their admissions is wholly illegal, unjustified and is without jurisdiction.
8. The petitions have been contested mainly by the MCI represented by Sri. Avinash Mishra, as the order impugned is of the MCI. The Director General, Medical Education and Training, U.P. has also supported the MCI. The counsel for the Union of India, learned Standing counsel of the State of U.P, and counsel for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra have remained neutral. The counsel for the Medical College and UP CMET hav
