SC clears 100 medical seats, gives 2 weeks for admission

Prafulla Marpakwar TNN 

Mumbai: The Supreme Court has granted permission to the Maharashtra government to increase seats in two medical colleges—Indira Gandhi Medical College in Nagpur and the Government Medical College in Akola—from 100 to 150. The development comes a day after the apex court dismissed a special leave petition filed by the Medical Council of India. The MCI had turned down the proposal to increase seats in these two colleges due to some technical issues. 
    “We found no grounds to entertain the special leave petition. It is dismissed leaving open the questions raised in the matter to be decided in appropriate case. However, considering the peculiar facts of the case, we are inclined to give a direction in respect of all colleges in Maharashtra to complete admission formalities within a period of two weeks from today….we make it clear that this order shall not be treated as a precedent,” Justices K S Radhakrishnan and A K Sikri observed in a brief order. 
    In the wake of the Centre’s proposal to enhance seats in medical colleges across India to tackle shortage of doctors, the state had submitted a proposal to increase seats in IGMC and the Akola medical college to the MCI. Then it was submitted that intake capacity of both the colleges should be increased from 100 to 150. But the MCI rejected the proposal, citing deficiencies in IGMC and that the Akola medical college had not completed 10 years. 
    Subsequently, when a PIL was filed before the high court, it asked the MCI to consider the applications submitted by the state government. The MCI did not consider the applications sympathetically and instead filed a special leave petition, which was dismissed. 
    In view of the apex court order, while 11 medical colleges will have an intake capacity of 150 each, the remaining three have an intake capacity of 200 each. “We will complete admissions within two weeks,” a senior medical education department official told.


Source:::: The Times of India, 03-10-2013, p.05,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW