Madras High Court directs private medical colleges, CENTAC to pay ₹15 lakh each to 16 doctors illegally denied PG admission

The Madras High Court recently directed four private medical colleges in Puducherry and the Union Territory (UT)’s Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) to pay a compensation of ₹15 lakh each to 16 doctors who were illegally denied post graduate seats during the 2017-18 medical admissions scam..In a judgement passed on November 9, a bench of Justices R Subramanian and R Kalaimathi also upheld the order passed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh in October 2020, holding the admission of 64 PG medical students in the said four colleges during the academic year of 2017-18 was illegal..In the confusion over admission and counselling process for PG medical seats after the Union government introduced NEET in 2017, several cases of illegal admissions to private colleges in Puducherry had come to fore. A probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed that government officials, private colleges and CENTAC members had abused their official position and cheated bonafide students by denying admission to CENTAC-sponsored students and instead admitting others after collecting exorbitant fees. The Medical Council of India had subsequently cancelled the admissions of several students and directed the private colleges to “discharge such students,” who had been admitted illegally..In October 2020, Justice Venkatesh dismissed the petitions filed by 64 such students, who had challenged their discharge orders and claimed that because of the interim reliefs secured during the pendency of their pleas, they had already completed their post graduate degrees..The division bench led by Justice Subramanian was hearing the appeals filed by 28 of these 64 students, and also another batch of petitions filed by 18 meritorious CENTAC sponsored students who had been denied admissions. These 18 students had sought admission in the place of the discharged students and had also sought monetary compensation..In its November 9 judgement, the division bench held that since, all the students before the Court had already completed their post graduate degrees, the prayer made by the 18 students seeking admission was no longer enforceable.However, the bench said that they deserved to be paid compensation. It also noted that two of the 18 students had already received compensation. Therefore, it directed the four private colleges, Arupadai Veedu Medical College, Vinayaka Mission Medical College, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Manakula Vinayakar Medical College and Hospital, Venkateswara Medical College and Hospital to pay ₹10 lakh to each of the 16 students and the CENTAC to pay ₹5 lakh to each of such students since, “the CENTAC and the Health Department of Government of Puducherry were in active connivance with the Colleges and have helped them to great extent to implement their scheme to make illegal admissions.”.While dismissing the appeals challenging Justice Venkatesh’s October 2020 order, the division bench said that their plea for sympathy was misplaced and in granting them any relief, the Court would be legalising an illegality..“The tabular column drawn out by Hon’ble Mr. Justice N Anand Venkatesh, would show how these admissions are illegal. Once it is found that the admissions are illegal, the fact that the students were allowed either to continue the Course or to appear for examinations does not matter. In the case on hand each and every one of the appellants viz. the students have filed affidavits undertaking that they will not claim equity while securing the interim orders. We are therefore not enamoured by the argument based on sympathy,” the High Court said..Advocate L Swaminathan appeared for the doctors challenging the October 2020 order.Advocate Shubaranjani Ananth appeared for the respondent National Medical Commission.Additional Government Pleader (Puducherry) R Sreedhar appeared for the Puducherry Health Department and CENTAC.Senior Counsel P Wilson and Advocate Richardson Wilson appeared for one of the respondent private colleges, the Aarupadai Veedu Medical College & Hospital..[Read Judgment]