The Supreme Court on Thursday cancelled all counselling and admissions to undergraduate medical courses to both government and private medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh and ordered the process be held afresh through centralised counselling by the state government.
Cancelling the counselling already done, the constitution bench of Justice Anil R. Dave, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice R.K. Agrawal, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice R.Banumathi said: "We, therefore, direct that admission to all medical seats shall be conducted by centralised counselling only by the state government and none else."
The court decision is likely to affect candidates aspiring to be admitted to 3,409 undergraduate medical courses seat - both in government and private medical colleges. The cancellation of the counselling would affect 975 candidate which private medical colleges claimed they have already admitted through their respective counselling.
Ordering the fresh counselling, the constitution bench said: "If any counselling has been done by any college or university and any admission to any medical seat has been given so far, such admission shall stand cancelled forthwith and admission shall be given only as per centralised counselling done by the state government."
The court ordered the fresh counselling for all the seats in undergraduate medical courses in the state while observing that the mandate of its May 2 judgment was to hold "centralised entrance test followed by centralised state counselling by the State to make it a one composite process".
The order came on a contempt petition by the Madhya Pradesh government contending that in violation of the top court's May 2, 2016 judgment the private medical colleges were holding their own counselling for admitting students in their respective colleges.
While ordering fresh counselling, the bench noted the statement by the Madhya Pradesh government that though it has already conducted the first round of counselling yet it was ready to "undertake the entire process afresh" and assures that it would be completed by September 30, which is the last date for admission.
"We also feel that it is a proper course of action inasmuch as it will enable the private institutions to send their representatives at the place of counselling as per the information which may be displayed by the counselling authority forthwith at its website", the bench said.
The court also put on record the assurance by Additional Solicitor General P.S.Patwalia that all seats, whether of government colleges or the private institutions, will be filled up and no one will remain vacant.
Patwalia who had appeared for Madhya Pradesh government had contended that private medical colleges were in "wilful and deliberate disobedience" of top court verdict of May 2, on a batch of petitions by private medical colleges challenging the state high court judgment upholding the validity of Madhya Pradesh's 2007 law on admission to private professional institutions and determination of fees and the related rules, 2008.
The private medical colleges had also challenged the Madhya Pradesh Private Medical and Dental Post Graduate Courses Entrance Examination Rules, 2009.
--IANS
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