Chintpurni Medical College moves against HC order for student shift

Chandigarh: With a Punjab and Haryana Court Directive for a Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital student shift to other colleges within 2 months, the college management is reported to have now filed a Latent Patent Appeal (LPA), challenging the single bench order. The authorities have called the court order a violation, as their case lies pending in the Supreme Court.

Despite no closure directive by the High Court, the single bench of Ajay Tiwari last month ordered that students of Chintpurni be shifted in response to a petition filed by a few students. The bench had made an observation that the Centre and Punjab government along with the Medical Council of India had concluded that the college despite all cautioning, had failed to create the required infrastructure for the students.

"Even if the college has not been shut down there is no doubt that it is just limping along," said the High Court bench in its judgment dated September 8. It added: "This is the second or third occasion when its admissions have been barred and on every such occasion the ground has been that it has not been able to create the infrastructure."

Advocate Arjun Pratap Atma Ram, Counsel for the institute, on Wednesday, said an appeal had been filed to challenge the shifting of the students by a single bench order. "Our main ground for prayer is the High Court could not have passed a judgment when the case is also pending before the Supreme Court," he told The Indian Express.

Established in 2011, the college a year later was denied MCI permission for fresh admissions, due to infrastructural deficiencies. Admissions were once again granted for 2015-16 on the basis of a Supreme Court undertaking, only to be withdrawn in 2015-16, after the MCI found "certain grave irregularities" in the functioning of the institute.

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on May 31 again refused the Pathankot-based college permission to admit students for 2017-18 and 2018-19 sessions for the allotted 150 MBBS seats. The college stood up to this decision, by having its Director move the Supreme Court against the order issued by the Centre.

The Supreme Court on August 30, however, directed the High Court to take up the matter of the students seeking a shift to other medical colleges, and pass appropriate orders in the first week of September.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's office announced in a statement that in accordance with his directions, senior officials of the government met with their Medical Council of India counterparts to work out the modalities for shifting of Chintpurni students.

The official press statement, while highlighting the rehabilitation move by the government, of students, also stated that the "Chintpurni (college) was owned and managed by BJP leader Swaran Salaria, now the party's candidate for the Lok Sabha by-poll in Gurdaspur."