Start admissions of MBBS students: Himachal Pradesh HC to MMMC

Shimla, Sept 20 The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed the principal of a private medical college here to admit MBBS aspirants as per the list issued by the counselling committee.

Maharshi Markendeshwar Medical College (MMMC) in Solan had allegedly denied admission to 150 MBBS students under government quota over demand of fee hike.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the order on a petition filed by Arushi Thakur on the issue of fee revision in MMMC.

However, the high court commanded the petitioners to execute an undertaking before the court, that in case the fee is enhanced or revised, they shall have to pay the revised fee from this academic session.

The bench directed the respondent to file reply by September 26 and listed the case for October 3 next.

The college management, which is charging Rs 5 lakh per year for the seats under government quota as against Rs 50,000 charged by three government medical colleges in the state, had requested for a further hike in the fee and refused the admit the students for MBBS session (2016-17).

However, the government had turned down the request, saying no changes can be made in the fee structure after counselling and publication of the prospectus.

The government had asked the college to admit MBBS students against 50 per cent government quota seats and 50 per cent management quota seats, but the MMMC remained defiant and students approached the high court.

The list of the counselling committee, headed by Director Medical Education and Research K P Chowdhary, has the names of the MBBS aspirants to be admitted by the college.

MMMC was permitted to admit the fourth batch of 150 MBBS students by the Union government on the recommendations of Medical Council of India (MCI), but the college did not abide by the directions of the government to get affiliation from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) and continued to function as consequent college of Maharshi Markendeshwar University in violation of clause 7 of the Act under which the university was set up. This clause bars the university from affiliating any college.

PTI