MARB cannot retrospectively cancel admissions of students to medical colleges: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court recently ruled that the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) does not have the authority to retrospectively cancel admissions of students into medical colleges [Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital v. The Union of India & Ors]..Justice Arun Monga opined that the MARB's powers or functions with respect to “reducing intake or stoppage of admission” under the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act cannot be interpreted to mean that intake can be reduced retrospectively or that admissions once granted can be stopped retrospectively.“For, that would result in consequences fraught with danger and play havoc with the career of students, who are otherwise meritorious in all respects. What has been done cannot be undone, but yes, it must be stopped forthwith, if situation so warrants, to avoid perpetuity in future. MARB, no doubt, is thus vested with the power to disallow/stop admissions, but only prospectively,” the Court explained..Justice Monga passed the ruling on petitions challenging MARB’s directive for the cancellation of student admissions in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in four medical colleges due to alleged deficiencies in infrastructure and faculty.While emphasizing on MARB and NMC’s role in ensuring high standards in medical education, the Court also stressed that the regulatory bodies must adopt a pragmatic approach when it comes to the renewal of permissions for existing medical colleges..In the present case, the MARB had not only withdrawn the letter of permission for the courses in the four colleges but also canceled the admissions granted to the students of the 2021-22 academic session and recommended the cancellation of recognition to these institutions.The Court proceeded to rule that MARB did not have the power to retrospectively cancel the admissions of the students.“Concededly, the impugned orders have been passed by the MARB with retrospective effect putting the career and future of all the students under peril. Thereby, hanging Damocles sword on their head midstream of their medical education by leaving them high and dry,” it observed..The Court also noted that other options like burdening the colleges with monetary penalties or other punitive measures had not been explored by the MARB and that the orders canceling the admissions were passed like a “bolt from the blue."Finding it “concerning” that the MARB did not consider the detailed reply submitted by the colleges in response to a show cause notice, the Court added,“It appears that the MARB did not fully evaluate the college's explanations and requests for a compliance verification inspection or a personal hearing. The impugned order passed by the MARB did not provide any reason for its dissatisfaction with the petitioner's reply. Such lack of transparency raises questions about the fairness of the decision-making process.”.Considering these findings, the Court made absolute its earlier interim orders to protect the student admissions in question and set aside the MARB's decision to retrospectively cancel their admissions.Senior Advocates K Venugopal, Nidesh Gupta, Vikas Balia and advocates Ravi Malu, Abhishek Mehta, Charu Mathur, Tanvi Dubey, Akhilesh Rajpurohit and Hemant Dutt represented the petitioners.Additional Advocates General Manish Vyas and Mukesh Rajpurohit along with advocates Deepesh Beniwal, Uttam Singh, RS Saluja, Mahendra Vishnoi and Harsh Chittora represented the respondents..[Read Judgment]