Court upheld regulatory authority's power to halt admissions for substandard educational institutions, emphasizing compliance with educational infrastructure standards.

JUDGMENT

A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J.

“It would be dangerous and against the right to life itself, in case unequipped medical colleges are permitted to impart substandard medical education without proper facilities and infrastructure.”

Arun Mishra J. in MCI v. The Chairman, S.R. Educational and Charitable Trust and Another – [ 2018 KHC 6864 ].

The Chairman of the S.R. Educational & Charitable Trust, Varkala, the Educational Agency that established the Sree Sankara Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram, is the petitioner before us in W.P. (C).Nos.12260/2020, 2583/2022, 2720/2022 and 4064/2022. Although W.P.(C).No.5189/2019 had also been preferred by students pursuing their BDS course in the said Dental College, who had alleged that regular classes were not being conducted for the BDS course from 2017 onwards, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in that case informed us that the petitioners do not wish to pursue their case, and hence, the said writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn.

2. In the subsisting writ petitions, the challenge is against various orders passed by the Central Government and the Dental Council of India [hereinafter referred to as the “DCI”] in connection with the BDS and MDS courses conducted by the petitioner College during the academic years from 2020-21 onwards. It would appear that an inspection was conducted in the College, at the instance of the DCI, pursuant to complaints received from students, who were the petitioners in W.P.(C).No.5189/2019, and based on the said inspection, by a report dated 3.7.2019, the DCI had recommended to the Central Government to stop the admissions to the BDS and MDS courses in the College from the academic year 2019-20 onwards. By the same report, the DCI had also recommended the withdrawal of recognition to the College. No action appears to have been taken by the Central Government on the said report. While matters stood thus, another inspection was conducted, at the instance of the DCI, and by a report dated 30.1.2020, they once again recommended to the Central Government to stop the admissions to the BDS and MDS courses from the academic year 2020-21 onwards. This time around, the Central Government, acting on the report of the DCI, and purportedly in exercise of their powers under Regulation 11 A of the Dental Council of India (Establishment of New Dental Colleges, Opening of New or Higher Course of Study or Training and Increase of Admission Capacity in Dental Colleges) Regulations, 2006 [hereinafter referred to as the “2006 Regulations”] issued an order dated 28.2.2020 directing the petitioner College to stop admissions to the MDS course from the academic year 2020-21 onwards. This order of the Central Government was impugned by the petitioner in W.P. (C).No.12260/2020, where by an interim order dated 23.4.2020, a learned Single Judge, after taking note of the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the defects pointed out by the DCI pursuant to their inspection of the College had already been cured and a compliance report placed before the DCI, stayed the operation of the order of the Central Government and permitted the College to make provisional admission of students to the MDS Program for the academic year 2020-21, subject to the result of the writ petition. While W.P.(C).No.12260/2020 was pending before this Court, the DCI passed an order dated 19.1.2022, referring to its earlier recommendations to the Central Government as also the earlier order dated 28.2.2020 of the Central Government, and directing the petitioner Colle