MBBS seat reduction at IGGMC : Bombay HC pulls up MCI

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has asked the Medical Council of India(MCI), to make a submission to the court regarding its recommendation to the centre to decrease the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College’s(IGGMC), MBBS seats from 150 to 100 within the next two days. The Court while issuing the above directive reminded the Council of the February 4, 2015, order wherein it was severely criticized for a similar seat reduction recommendation. The two-member division bench of Justices Murlidhar Giratkarand and Bhushan Gavai asked the council the reason for having recommended the same all over again, despite clear directions given to it by the court earlier.

The court was responding to a contempt petition (CP No 281/2017) in a writ petition (No 3427/2000) filed by CH Sharma and others, regarding facility shortcomings in government medical colleges and hospitals (GMCHs) across the state.

It was amicus curiae, Anup Gilda, who brought the Council’s ‘decrease seat’ recommendation to the notice of the High Court, who brought the council’s February 28 recommendation to the Health Ministry’s Secretary.

The MCI’s letter stated the assessment reports submitted by its executive committee on December 19 last year and February 1 and 2 this year, speaks of certain shortcomings in the IGGMC.

“The executive committee decided to recommend to the centre not to approve IGGMC for the award of MBBS degree by MUHS, Nasik, against the increased intake from 100 to 150 seats. It was further decided to call upon the concerned college to submit compliance of listed deficiencies within a month. The decision of the executive committee was approved by our oversight committee on February 23,” the letter mentions.

Meanwhile, Gilda also pointed at the CT scan machine in the IGGMC being out of order and needed to be replaced by a new one, a fact observed by the HC on January 13, as well. Gilda demanded installation of a new machine at the earliest to facilitate patient treatment.

Earlier, Gilda had also made a mention of the February 4, 2015, order where HC had bid the centre to refrain from MCI’s recommendations of reducing the IGGMC seats. The amicus also informed that the Supreme Court had challenged the High Court order through a Special Leave Petition (SLP) which was dismissed.

“When in the same facts and circumstances, the apex court had granted increase of seats from 100 to 150, we find that there was no occasion for the MCI to recommend a reduction of seats from 150 to 100. As a matter of fact, the same would amount to disrespecting the orders passed by the top court,” the then division bench of justices Gavai and Mridula Bhatkar had opined, reports TOI.