Eight Government medical colleges that were found unfit to admit MBBS students due to lack of faculty and infrastructure got a lease of life from the Supreme Court on Monday. The court allowed the colleges spread across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand to admit students on an undertaking that all deficiencies shall be cured in three months failing which the concerned Principal Secretary of the State shall be hauled for contempt.
This order by a Vacation Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Indu Malhotra was passed on the petitions moved by the three State Governments — Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, where 800 MBBS seats would otherwise go waste. Although Centre’s order found 82 medical colleges in the country unfit to provide medical education, this order will apply only to the eight colleges in question and not to the rest since the court specified that its order will not be treated as a “precedent”.
The colleges given the relief are Government Allopathic Medical College, Banda (UP), Government Medical College, Saharanpur (UP), Government Medical College and Super Specialty Hospital, Azamgarh (UP), Rajkiya Medical College, Jalaun (UP), MGM Medical College (Jharkhand), Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College, Gaya (Bihar), Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences, Pawapuri Nalanda (Bihar) and Government Medical College, Bettiah (Bihar). These colleges will be included in the counseling to take place on Tuesday.
Before passing the order, the Bench made scathing observations against the dismal state of affairs at the eight Government medical colleges that are frequented by thousands of patients daily. Refusing to ignore the serious shortage of faculty and infrastructure pointed out in the inspection report of Medical Council of India (MCI), the Bench said, “What happens to patients if you provide them this kind of facilities…Can Government colleges afford to produce half-baked doctors. After all, it is human beings you are treating and not animals.”
The Centre represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh pointed out that since 2013, these colleges were provided opportunity to make good their deficiencies but to no avail. Although willing to provide yet another chance in the interest of students, Singh insisted that instead of States giving undertaking to the Centre, they must give undertaking directly to the court in order to hold accountable the officer giving the undertaking.
The court recorded the undertaking by the Principal Secretaries (Health) of the three States and allowed the MCI to conduct fresh inspection after three months. It said, “If the deficiencies are not removed within the period specified, the Principal Secretary of each of the States will be held personally responsible for non-compliance with the orders passed by this court.” The matter will be heard next on September 25.