No affiliation for Kannur Medical College until it makes deposit to refund students whose 2016-17 MBBS admissions were cancelled: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Kannur Medical College to deposit, within a month, ₹ 15.72 crores towards the refund of fees for 55 students whose MBBS admissions were cancelled owing to irregularities by the College (Latha R Nath and anr v. Kannur Medical College and ors)..Unless the refund is made, the College would not be entitled to claim affiliation for MBBS courses, the Court said.This refund is to be deposited with the Admission Supervisory Committee for Professional Colleges in Kerala (ASC) for disbursal to the students/guardians..A Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna also held that the Fees Regulation Committee should take a decision on the fees that should be returned to around 92 students within the next 9 months..The case has its genesis in the cancellation of admissions of 150 students in the academic year 2016-17 due to procedural irregularities attributed to Kannur Medical College. The cancellation of admissions was confirmed by the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court. .After several rounds of litigation in the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court, the top court eventually instructed that the College management should return double the fees that were paid by the students before it can be allowed affiliation for conducting MBBS courses. In this regard, two orders were passed in the matter by the Supreme Court on August 29, 2018, and October 4, 2018. .Some more rounds of litigation later, the Kerala High Court in May 2020, stayed an order passed by the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) denying the Kannur Medical College affiliation, on certain conditions including the furnishing of a Rs 10 crore bank guarantee and depositing the title deed of certain land..This was challenged by aggrieved students before the Supreme Court, which has now set aside the Kerala High Court order, upon finding that that the withdrawal of affiliation was a consequence of Kannur Medical College's failure to comply with the Supreme Court's orders of August 29 and October 4, 2018. .In their petition, the students had raised grievance over the College denying them the refund due, alleging further that the College had tried to coerce the students and guardians into giving no dues certificates. ".... we do not, therefore, find anything wrong in the letter dated 29th April 2020 whereby KUHS has rejected KMC’s application for continuation of affiliation for the academic year 2020-21 as it is a necessary sequitur and consequence of the two orders passed by this Court", the Supreme Court said. .It went on to pass the following, among other, directions:Kannur Medical College shall deposit Rs.15,72,89,020/- (payable to about 55 students) with the ASC along with full details of the guardians/students to whom the amounts have to be paid, their addresses and bank accounts, within a period of one month from today. On deposit of the said amounts, the ASC would disburse and make payments to the guardians/studentsReferring to about 92 students who were stated to have signed compromise contracts under duress, the Court has asked the ASC to examine the claims and objections made by the guardians/ students on the actual amount paid by them and pass appropriate orders. Any party, i.e. the guardian/student/college, aggrieved by the order to be passed by the ASC would be entitled to challenge the same before the High Court. The Kannur Medical College would make a deposit of Rs.25 crores with the ASC, which deposit would be converted into multiple fixed deposit receipts as the ASC may deem appropriate. For these students, amounts would be disbursed based on the ASC's orders or on the basis of orders passed by the High Court, if a challenge is made to the ASC award. ASC is requested to complete the exercise as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of nine months. Excess amounts are to be refunded to the Kannur Medical College. Kannur Medical College would be entitled to claim affiliation and admit students only after they have deposited Rs.15,72,89,020/- and Rs.25 crores, as indicated above. The decision with regards to grant of affiliation shall be made by the ASC and KUHS only upon determination, settlement and refund of all claims pertaining to the students admitted in the academic year 2016-17..Senior Advocate Maninder Singh represented Kannur Medical College. Senior Advocates Jaideep Gupta and CK Sasi had represented the ASC while the students were represented by advocate Raghenth Basant..[Read judgment]