Chandigarh: Considering a plea filed by the White Medical College and Hospital, previously known as Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital, Punjab and Haryana High Court recently imposed a fine of 10 lakh on the institute for misleading the court.
After filing the plea, the college contested an order issued in January by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARD) of the National Medical Commission (NMC). The commission directed the transfer of students from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 batches to other medical colleges.
After evaluating the matter, the division bench of the High Court, led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal, firmly stated that the college had consistently failed to adhere to the necessary standards.
As per the latest reports from the Times of India, the High Court bench strongly stated that it was entirely inappropriate for the NMC to grant the college conditional permission to admit MBBS students during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years.
The court emphasized the need for the National Medical Commission (NMC) to thoroughly review and reconsider how it grants limited permissions for provisional recognition and affiliations.
The court stated, "This practice has put the careers of innocent students at risk and the health of the community, including experts and their families
The High Court Division bench dismissed the plea filed by the college, upholding the Medical Assessment and Rating Board's authority to order the mass transfer of the students.
"Even the students who are likely to be adversely affected were not impleaded as respondents. All these facts have been stated by the students in their written statements who subsequently became party while filing applications," it was further observed.
The High Court bench noted that the college failed to disclose previous court orders. As a result, the court imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on the college for deliberately concealing adverse judicial orders from 2012 to 2017. The court directed the college to deposit the fine with the PGIMER Poor Patients Welfare Fund.
The controversial shut down of Chintpurni Medical College was a direct result of the institute's ongoing admission of students without MCI approval since its inception in 2011. Furthermore, the college's insufficient infrastructure and inadequate facilities for medical studies further justified the decision.
The Executive Committee of the Medical Council of India (MCI) recommended debarring the medical college for admitting students from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years due to non-compliance with NMC norms. Additionally, the committee advised encashing a ₹2 crore bank guarantee provided by the college at the time of its recognition in 26 September 2016. The Central Government accepted the MCI's recommendations.
Following the MCI's recommendation, the 2011-12 and 2014-15 batches of students were transferred to other medical colleges in Punjab by Supreme Court order, after they sought relocation. The Supreme Court also upheld the Central Government's decision and dismissed the college's challenge. The college was informed it could seek permission to admit students again for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years after the ban period ended
However, in 2022 NMC granted its permission to Chintpurni Medical College to admit students in 150 MBBS seats after inspecting the infrastructure of the medical college.
The Punjab Medical College controversy started again last year after a five-member panel of BFUHS found serious deficiencies in the medical college, including lack of adequate infrastructure, teachers, and patient load. The panel's report stated that the careers of MBBS students at the medical college were being jeopardized due to these deficiencies. The Punjab government took cognizance of the matter and referred it to the National Medical Commission (NMC).
In a letter to the Director of the National Medical Commission (NMC), Anurag Agarwal, the State Additional Chief Secretary of Medical Education and Research, expressed grave concern over the college's failure to comply with statutory regulations and guidelines, despite receiving approval from the NMC
Following the letter from the State Additional Chief Secretary, the NMC conducted an inspection of the medical college and found serious deficiencies in faculty, patient load, and infrastructure. As a result, the NMC denied the college permission to admit MBBS students for the academic year 2023-2024.
Earlier this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted relief to medical students from Chintpurni Medical College by directing the NMC and the Punjab Government to transfer these students to other medical colleges. This decision was made to protect the students' education after issues were discovered at Chintpurni Medical College.
Input from various sources
(Rehash/Simran Sethi/MSM)