The Madras High Court has directed the Registrar of Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University here to file a show-cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against her in a matter relating to clinical and viva-voce examinations.
According to the university, the Registrar in question was no longer holding the post.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, passed the order on a batch of writ petitions.
The issue was whether the new guidelines of the university in respect of clinical and viva-voce examination, which were inconsistent with the MCI guidelines, could be sustained in law.
By a judgment on November 16 last year, the court had held that the impugned guidelines were inconsistent/repugnant to regulation 12 (4) of the MCI regulations on graduate medical education, 1997 (as amended up to November 2010.)
The court had also said the impugned guidelines had no nexus to the object of enhancing academic standards.
The Bench said the university’s SLP before the Supreme Court was dismissed. The university, instead of obeying the judgment, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court, had impetuously expressed that it would not obey the directions, which was evident from a letter dated December 26 last year by the Registrar to the Secretary, MCI.
The Bench said a clear case of contempt had been made out against the Registrar. Hence, taking this issue seriously, it was giving the direction to the Registrar.
It posted the matter for November 20.
The university’s counsel said the Registrar who addressed the aforesaid letter was no longer in office.
However, the Bench directed the university to get the notice served on the person who wrote the letter in the Registrar’s capacity.
The petitioners counsel prayed for an interim direction by allowing the petitioners to attend the classes, to which the university said that the prayer may be considered on November 20.
The university counsel said that if the prayer was granted, the period of non-attendance would be condoned.
