Karnataka: Bringing an end to the confusion regarding the admission process of Raja Rajeswari Medical College and Hospital (RRMCH), the Karnataka High Court has finally passed an interim order asking the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) to conduct the counselling process for its remaining 118 MBBS seats.
This came after the medical college authorities and Moogamikai Charitable and Educational Trust filed a petition in the High Court of Karnataka after being aggravated by the decision of the state government to bar the institution from conducting the second round of counselling The authorities had also approached the court opposing the notification issued by the central government which permitted the institution to come under the ambit of Dr. MGR Education and Research Institute.
The bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N S Sanjay Gowda stated that the University Grant Commission has not recommended any such transfer of institution without the consent of the concerned authorities of the Karnataka Government. Hence the court has instructed the authorities to restore the medical college under the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).
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Previously, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) had informed about the removal of seats in the round 2 NEET counselling session for MBBS admission this academic year. The medical college had sought a No-Objection Certificate from the state to be included under Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, but the state government rejected the request of the college stating that No Objection Certificate issued to the college would affect the students of the state. Despite the rejection, the college was given the approval to be included under the university by the central government. However, the college even to this date is affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. After several meetings, RGUHS rejected the request of the institution for disaffiliation.
Aggravated by the decision the institution approached the Karnataka High Court. The High Court dismissed the appeal of the College and allowed the appeal of the state. After this, the state requested MCC not to allot any seats to the institution on the second round of counselling. Considering the request, MCC removed the MBBS seats from the medical college in round two of medical counselling.
As per a recent media report by Deccan Herald, after considering the submission of both the parties, the court observed, " The correctness or otherwise of the order of the single judge is yet to be considered. In the interregnum, as many as 132 seats have already been counselled by DGHS. In the interest of students and in order to maintain parity and consistency in the counselling for the 2020-2021 academic year, we think it is just and proper to permit DGHS to counsel the remaining seats insofar as this academic year is concerned. "
The court further added, "Since round II of the counselling has already been completed and it is stated at the bar that mop-up round of counselling is to take place on December 15 or 16, 2020,the Union government is to hold the counselling for the balance 118 seats on the said dates in respect of the appellant/institutions."
Moreover, in the interim order, the court also mentioned that the state government would get its quota after consensual agreement though the college was not a party to the consensual agreement with the State Government for the academic sessions from 2019 to 2021, pursuant to the notification dated February 14, 2019, issued by the central government when the transfer of affiliation first took place.