SC likely to hear plea against MP private medical colleges

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear today the Madhya Pradesh Government's plea for contempt proceedings against private medical colleges for holding separate counselling sessions for undergraduate courses in "wilful and deliberate disobedience" of an earlier Court verdict.

Agreeing to hear the matter, an apex Court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice L. Nageswara Rao told state government lawyer Saurabh Mishra that the hearing would be done by a constitution bench that had pronounced the May 2 verdict.

The matter is listed for hearing by the constitution bench at 10.30 a.m. on today.

Mishra told the bench that the associations of private medical and dental colleges and private universities had, through notices in newspapers, said those desirous of taking admissions in their colleges will have to participate in separate counselling sessions held by the respective colleges and not the common counselling conducted by the state government.

The counsel said the notices by the Association of Privates Medical and Dental Colleges and the Association of Private Universities of Madhya Pradeshappeared in newspapers on September 2.

The government said the top Court in its May 2 judgment had said that the centralised counselling by the state government does not violate any fundamental right and is in public interest.

The petition said that by its September 2 communication to the state government, the Association of Privates Medical and Dental Colleges said they will hold their own counselling as that being conducted by the state government was not in accordance with law. The communication said that each college will conduct its own counselling.

The petition by the Madhya Pradesh government says that the Centre by its August 9 circular had directed combined centralised counselling on the basis of merit achieved in National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).

Meanwhile, Maharashtra moved the top Court on Thursday to contest a Bombay High Court order that permitted deemed universities to conduct their own counselling for medical courses.

The Court agreed to hear the state government plea after its lawyer Nishant Latneshwarkar mention the matter before a bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice L. Nageswara Rao.