MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIAversusJAIPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH CENTRE JAIPUR AND ANOTHER

                          [2018] 5 S.C.R. 195                               195


                  MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA                                  A
                                   v.
JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL
    SCIENCES AND RESEARCH CENTRE JAIPUR AND
                    ANOTHER
                                                                            B
                   (Civil Appeal No. 6000 OF 2018)
                            JULY 04, 2018
     [UDAY UMESH LALIT AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.]
       Education/Educational Institutions – Medical education –
                                                                            C
Renewal of permission to admit students for MBBS course for next
academic session – Grant of – On facts, interim order by High Court
directing the Central Government to permit the Medical institute to
admit 150 students in the third batch of MBBS course for the
academic year subject to a rider that if the Institute fails, the fees
would be refunded to the students – Propriety and correctness of –          D
Held: There was no justification for passing interim directions and
permitting the Institute to go ahead with provisional admissions for
the academic session – Any stipulation that the admissions pursuant
to such interim directions shall be subject to the result of the petition
would not be a sufficient protection or insulation and such orders
                                                                            E
result in tremendous prejudice to the students – Proper course would
be to hear the matter finally rather than passing interim directions
– Thus, the High Court not justified in passing the interim order –
Order passed by the High Court set aside.
      Medical Council of India v. Rajiv Gandhi University of
                                                                            F
      Health Sciences and others (2004) 6 SCC 76 : [2004]
      3 SCR 1119; Medical Council of India v. JSS Medical
      College (2012) 5 SCC 628: [2012] 1 SCR 136; Medical
      Council of India v. Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences
      (KIMS) (2016) 11 SCC 530 : [2016] 4 SCR 403; Dental
      Council of India v. Dr. Hedgewar Smruti Rugna Seva                    G
      Mandal Hingoli and Others (2017) 13 SCC 115 –
      referred to.
                         Case Law Reference
      [2004] 3 SCR 1119                   referred to     Para 8
                                                                            H
                                  195
196            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2018] 5 S.C.R.


A           [2012] 1 SCR 136                    referred to      Para 8
            [2016] 4 SCR 403                    referred to      Para 8
            (2017) 13 SCC 115                   referred to      Para 8
            CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 6000
B     of 2018.
             From the Judgment and Order dated 29.05.2018 of the High Court
      of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur in DB Civil Writs No. 10103/
      2018.
             Mr. Maninder Singh, ASG, Gaurav Sharma, Prateek Bhatia, Advs.
C     for the Appellant.
             Mr. Vivek Krishna Tankha, Sr. Adv., Ms. Bina Madhavan, Varun
      K. Chopra, Piyush Dwivedi, Ms. Ramandeep Kaur, Lawyer’s Knit &
      Co., R. Balasubramanium, Sachin Sharma, Arvind K. Sharma, Advs.
      for the respondents.
D
            The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
            UDAY UMESH LALIT, J. 1. Leave granted.
             2. This appeal challenges the correctness of interim order dated
      29.05.2018 passed by the High Court of Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur in
E     D. B. Civil Writ Petition No.10103/2018 whereby the High Court directed
      the Central Government to permit the Respondent Institute to admit 150
      students in the third batch of MBBS course for the academic year 2018-
      2019.
             3. Pursuant to appropriate recommendation having been given by
F     Medical Council of India (‘MCI’, for short), Central Government by its
      letter dated 06.06.2016 granted letter of permission to the Respondent
      Institute to establish a Medical College from the academic year 2016-
      2017 with annual undertake of 150 students. It appears that after
      conducting due inspection and verification, MCI did not recommend
      renewal of permission for the next academic session 2017-2018.
G     However, the Central Government by its letter dated 31.05.2017 granted
      renewal of permission to admit 2nd Batch of students for the academic
      year 2017-2018.
           4. In Writ Petition No.432 of 2017 (N.C. Medical College and
      Hospital Principal v. Union of India Secretary and Another), a list
H
    MCI v. JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIV. INST. FOR MEDICAL                             197
             SCIENCES [UDAY UMESH LALIT, J.]

of 24 Colleges who despite negative recommendation on part of MCI              A
were accorded renewal of permission by the Central Government was
extracted by this Court in its order dated 09.10.2017 and all those
Institutions including the Respondent Institute were added as
respondents. This Court further directed MCI to conduct surprise
inspection in respect of all the Colleges. It appears that the Assessors
                                                                               B
appointed by MCI conducted physical assessment and verification on
31st October, 2017 and 1st November, 2017. The assessment report was
placed before the Executive Committee of MCI in its Meeting held on
22.11.2017 where the Executive Committee observed various deficiencies
of Infrastructure, Clinical Material and other physical facilities. The
Executive Committee therefore decided to recommend to the Central              C
Government not to grant renewal of permission for the 3rd Batch of
students for the academic year 2018-2019. Thereafter, the Central
Government afforded opportunity of hearing to the Respondent Institute
and requested MCI to review the case of Respondent Institute. Aforesaid
Writ Petition No.432 of 2017 was disposed of by this Court on 17.01.2018
                                                                               D
directing MCI to take appropriate decision in respect of 25 Medical
Colleges for the academic year 2018-2019 by 31.03.2018.
      5. In order to verify the claims made by the Respondent Institute
regarding compliance and that the deficiencies had been removed, MCI
conducted compliance verification on 05.03.2018 and the report in respect
thereof was placed in the Meeting of the Executive Committee of MCI            E
held on 24.03.2018. After discussion and deliberation, the Executive
Committee found that the deficiencies in respect of Infrastructure, Clinical
Material and other physical facilities still persisted and therefore
recommended to the Central Government not to grant renewal of
permission to the Respondent Institute for academic session 2018-2019.         F
The Central Government after due consideration of the recommendations
made by MCI, vide its letter dated 01.05.2018 decided not to grant
renewal of permission for admission for the academic year 2018-2019.
       6. The aforesaid decision of the Central Government was
challenged by the Respondent Institute by preferring D.B. Civil Writ           G
Petition No.10103 of 2018 in the High Court of Rajasthan, Bench at
Jaipur. It appears that since the Advocates in Jaipur had gone on strike,
the Chairperson of the Respondent Institute, Under Secretary, Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, Union of India and Law Officer of MCI
who were present, were heard by the High Court on 29.05.2018. The
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198            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2018] 5 S.C.R.


A     High Court found that the inspection conducted by MCI was with
      predetermined mind not to renew the permission to the Respondent
      Institute and was of the prima facie view that the findings arrived at by
      MCI were required to be stayed at the interim stage. The High Court
      thus while admitting the petition fixed the matter for final hearing on
      09.07.2018 but proceeded to pass following order:-
B
            “6.2 The matter is fixed for final hearing on 09.07.2018.
            6.3 In the meantime and till disposal of the petition, the order
            dated 01.05.2018 as well as dated 28.03.2018 both are stayed
            and respondent No.1 is directed to allow the petitioner College to
C           admit 150 students in the third batch for the academic year 2018-
            2019 subject to a rider that if ultimately the petitioner fails in this
            petition, he will refund all the fees to the students who are admitted
            pursuant to the order of this court.
            6.4 The stay application is accordingly disposed of.
D               The Central Government will act upon this order”.
             7. This appeal questioning the aforesaid interim direction dated
      29.05.2018 was listed along with a similar matter where by way of an
      interim direction the concerned College was allowed to go ahead with
      admissions to 1st MBBS course for the academic session 2018-2019.
E     After having heard Mr. Maninder Singh, learned Additional Solicitor
      General of India in support of the appeal and Mr. Vivek Krishna Tankha,
      Senior Advocate for the respondent in the present matter in whose
      submission there were no deficiencies at all, this Court on 14.06.2018
      had reserved the matters for judgment and passed following order:-
F             “Heard learned counsel. In both these matters, the High Courts
            have permitted the concerned medical colleges to go ahead with
            admissions. The correctness of those orders passed at an interim
            stage is under challenge at the instance of the Medical College of
            India. We have been given to understand by the learned counsel
            appearing for both the medical colleges that till this date, no
G
            admissions have been effected despite the interim orders passed
            by the High Court in their favour. The statement is taken on
            record.
              We reserve the judgment and till the judgment is pronounced, no
            admission shall take place in respect of both the institutions to the
H           course of 1st MBBS for the ensuing academic session 2018-2019.
     MCI v. JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIV. INST. FOR MEDICAL                              199
              SCIENCES [UDAY UMESH LALIT, J.]

         Permission is granted to place on record requisite documents by         A
       16.06.2018.”
       8. In the companion matter namely Civil Appeal arising out of
Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.14972 of 2018, we have adverted to
certain decisions of this Court where the propriety and correctness of
similar such interim directions had been questioned before this Court.           B
Relying upon the decisions in (i) Medical Council of India v. Rajiv
Gandhi University of Health Sciences and others1, (ii) Medical
Council of India v. JSS Medical College2, (iii) Medical Council of
India v. Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS)3, (iv) Dental
Council of India v. Dr. Hedgewar Smruti Rugna Seva Mandal
Hingoli and Others4, we have held in the companion matter that there             C
was no justification for passing interim directions and permitting the
concerned College to go ahead with provisional admissions for the
academic session 2018-2019. We have further held that any stipulation
that the admissions pursuant to such interim directions shall be subject to
the result of the petition would not be a sufficient protection or insulation    D
and such orders result in tremendous prejudice to the students. We
have further held that if a case is made out the proper course is to hear
the matter finally rather than passing interim directions as have been
passed in the present matter. Based on same reasoning, we hold that
the High Court was not justified in passing the order under challenge.
       9. We, therefore, allow this appeal and set aside the order dated         E
29.05.2018 passed by the High Court. Since the matter is to come up on
09.07.2018 before the High Court, the entire controversy can be gone
into. We have not dealt with factual controversy in the present matter
and the facts that have been set out in the preceding paragraphs are
only by way of narration of events. We are sure that the pending matter          F
will be considered purely on merits.
       10. With these observations, the present appeal is allowed and the
order under appeal is set aside. No costs.

Nidhi Jain                                                     Appeal allowed.   G


1
  (2004) 6 SCC 76
2
   (2012) 5 SCC 628
3
   (2016) 11 SCC 530
4
   (2017) 13 SCC 115                                                             H