HC directs MCI to register 77 MBBS graduates

The Madras High Court today directed the Medical Council of India to register 77 MBBS graduates who had completed their internship after completing their course at Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Kancheepuram district.
The students should also be permitted to write post-graduate medical courses, Justice M.M. Sundresh said.
The college had MCI's recognition for the academic years 2008-09 and 2009-2010.
While the first batch that had completed its course and internship last year had been registered with MCI, the present plea was jointly filed by 77 students who were denied registration as medical practitioners this year.

MCI cancelled the college's permission and recognition on the ground of non-compliance of deficiencies pointed out by the Council's inspection team.
The 77 students, however, had written the examinations and passed out successfully, their counsel said.

They were allowed to do their Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRI) after the court's intervention. That the college's recognition was cancelled by MCI in the later years could not be a ground to deny them registration as medical practitioners, the counsel argued.
MCI's counsel V P Raman, however, said the college lost its MCI permission for 2014-15 and 2015-16 and that MCI had decided not to recognise and approve the college's MBBS degree.

The state medical university, on its part, said provisional certificates given to petitioners were based on wrong facts.
Rejecting the submissions, Justice Sundresh referred to the case of earlier batch students and said "there is no reason why the said yardstick shall not be adopted to the students of Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research. There is no material to hold that the case of the petitioners is different with from that of the students in that case."
MCI could have been more diligent while deciding not to recognise the degrees, the judge said, adding, the regulatory body must take appropriate steps much in advance in future when a similar situation might arise.