The Supreme Court recently remarked that the National Medical Commission (NMC) is an organ of the state and is expected to act in a fair and reasonable manner.
A bench of justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also imposed a Rs 10 lakh cost against NMC and dismissed its plea challenging the Kerala High Court order.
The matter deals with a medical college that was given approval for an increase of seats from 150 to 250 for the academic year 2023-24 by a letter dated February 27, 2023, issued by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board, which was later withdrawn by a subsequent letter dated April 5, 2023.
NMC had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court order, which directed the college to file an undertaking.
The counsel for NMC submitted that the grant of permission has to be considered on an annual basis. He further submitted that earlier disapproval was for the academic year 2023-2024, whereas in the present year, we are concerned with the academic year 2024-2025.
The NMC advocate submitted that there is no inspection insofar as the academic year 2024-2025 is concerned and, therefore, the High Court was not justified in passing the order, which is challenged before this Court.
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However, the top court did not agree with the NMC submission and upheld the Kerala High Court order.
“Prima facie, we find that the attitude of the NMC is not of a model litigant. The NMC is an organ of the State and is expected to act in a fair and reasonable manner,” the top court said.
Making a party run from court to court to seek permission, specifically when the institute concerned is not a new institute and has been running for the last 18 years, is, in our view, is only an attempt to harass the institution, the top court said.
The top court observed that when the approval granted earlier for the academic year 2023-2024 was withdrawn, no deficiency, except non-grant of consent of affiliation (COA), was pointed out.
“We are, therefore, of the view that the present special leave petitions are an abuse of the process of law and, therefore, dismissed with cost quantified at Rs 10,00,000/- to be paid within four weeks from the date of this order,” the top court said on September 9’s order.
The top court said that the cost of Rs 5,00,000 shall be deposited in the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association to be used for the purpose of Library and rest Rs 5 lakh shall be deposited with the Supreme Court Bar Association Advocates Welfare Fund.
(INPUTS FROM ANI)
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