Delhi High Court - Orders
Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical ... vs Union Of India & Anr on 30 March, 2022
Author: Rekha Palli
Bench: Rekha Palli
$~59
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 5339/2022
DHANALAKSHMI SRINIVASAN MEDICAL COLLEGE AND
HOSPITAL & ANR. ..... Petitioner
Through Mr.Manik Dogra with Ms.Srishty
Kaul, Mr.Vierat K. Anand, Mr.Dhruv Pandey,
Mr.Harish Nadda, Ms.Srishti Bajpai, Advs.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ANR. ..... Respondent
Through Ms.Bharti Raju with Mr.Devvrat
Yadav, G.P for R-1.
Mr.T.Singhdev with Ms.Michelle Biakthansangi
Das, Mr.Bhanu Gulati, Ms.Sumangla Swami,
Mr.Abhjit Chakravarty, Advs for R-2.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE REKHA PALLI
ORDER
% 30.03.2022 CM APPL. 15965/2022
1. Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
2. The application stands disposed of.
W.P.(C) 5339/2022 & CM APPL. 15964/2022 -Stay
3. The petitioners have approached this Court seeking the following reliefs:-
a) issue appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature Mandamus setting aside/quashing the impugned letters dated 31.12.2021 (received by the Petitioners on 12.01.2022),08.02.2022 [wrongly mentioned as 08.02.2021] Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:GARIMA MADAN Signing Date:30.03.2022 18:13:47 order of First Appeal dated 21.02.2022 issued by the Respondent No. 2 and order of second appeal dated 17.03.2022 (received by Petitioner on 25.03.2022) issued by the Respondent No. l.
b) Issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the Respondent No.2 to issue a letter of approval with respect to the Petitioner No.1's application seeking to increase the intake of students in the MBBS course from 150 to 250 students per year from the academic year 2021-22.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners, submits, that based on its application seeking permission for increase of MBBS seats from 150 to 250, the respondent no.2 on 31.12.2021, after considering the assessor's report of a physical inspection of the petitioner no.1/college had granted permission to the petitioner no.1/college to increase the seats in its MBBS course from 150 to 200, as against the petitioner's prayer for 250 seats.
5. Aggrieved by this decision of the respondent no.2, the petitioners preferred a first appeal seeking increase of the already approved seats from 200 to 250, pursuant whereto, an inspection through video conferencing was conducted on 08.02.2022. The link for this virtual inspection was forwarded to the petitioners only 11 minutes before the start of the inspection, which learned counsel for the petitioner contends was a mere farce. It is based on this virtual inspection, that the respondent no.2, while considering the petitioner's first appeal for enhancement of seats from 200 to 250 has while rejecting the said appeal, proceeded to unilaterally reduce the number of seats in the MBBS course to 150.
Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:GARIMA MADAN Signing Date:30.03.2022 18:13:476. By placing reliance on a decision of the Division Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in W.P.(C)4292/2022 titled as People's College of Medical Sciences and Research Centre & Anr. V. Union of India Anr., he contends that even though the petitioner is entitled to be granted permission for 250 seats, but in any event the 200 seats, which had been already approved by the respondent no.2, could not have been reduced to 150 seats and that too without the petitioner being issued any show cause in this regard and following the laid down procedure for reduction of seats. He therefore, prays that the petitioner be granted permission to fill the additional 50 seats in now available rounds of counselling for the NEET 2021-22.
7. Issue notice. Ms. Bharati Raju and Mr. T. Singhdev accept notice for the respondent nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Counter affidavit, be filed within four weeks. Rejoinder thereto, be filed within four weeks thereafter.
8. Mr.T.Singhdev, learned counsel for the respondent no.2 vehemently opposes the grant of any interim relief by urging that under The National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019, the respondent no.2 has been conferred with the power to reduce the number of seats, in case, it finds any deficiency; more so, in a case like the present, where only a letter of intent and no formal permission letter had been issued. While not denying that the link for the virtual inspection was forwarded to the petitioners only about 11 minutes before the beginning of the inspection, he submits that once the respondents are, as per the regulations, entitled to carry out surprise inspection, merely because the link was provided just 11 minutes before the virtual Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:GARIMA MADAN Signing Date:30.03.2022 18:13:47 inspection cannot entitle the petitioners to claim that there was any infirmity with the inspection.
9. Learned counsel for the respondent no.1, also supports the impugned order dated 17.03.2022 and submits that the same has been passed after considering the deficiencies reported by the respondent no.2 in the virtual inspection of the petitioner college carried out on 08.02.2022 and therefore, prays that no interim relief be granted to the petitioner.
10.Having considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, I find prima facie merit in the petitioners' plea that even if the respondents were entitled to reduce the seats already approved, they could not have passed any such direction without following the principles of natural justice and issuing at least a show cause notice to the petitioners informing them that such a course of action was being proposed. A similar view was taken by the Division Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, in Medical Sciences and Research Centre & Anr. (supra) while dealing with the same proposition regarding the power of the NMC to reduce the seats. I am therefore of the view that the balance of convenience is in the favour of the petitioner. Grave and irreparable loss will be caused not only to the petitioner college but also to the prospective medical students, if the petitioner college is not permitted to admit 200 students in the MBBS course, as already approved by the respondent no.2/Board on 31.12.2021, by considering the assessor's report furnished after a physical inspection.
11.The interim application is accordingly disposed of by permitting the Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:GARIMA MADAN Signing Date:30.03.2022 18:13:47 petitioner to admit 50 more students in the MBBS course, by participating in the now remaining rounds of counselling of the NEET 2021-2022.
12.Needless to state, this interim permission will remain subject to the outcome of the present petition and will not in any manner, preclude the respondents, from taking any action against the petitioners on account of its purporting deficiencies after following the due procedure, as per law.
13.It is also made clear that no special equities will be created in favour of the petitioners on account of this interim permission. The petitioners will also publish a notice on its web portal informing the general public that the admissions against these 50 seats will be subject to outcome of the present petition.
14.List on 27.05.2022.
REKHA PALLI, J MARCH 30, 2022 sr Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:GARIMA MADAN Signing Date:30.03.2022 18:13:47