The Supreme Court has confirmed an order passed by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court on April 30 to accommodate 108 MBBS students of the defunct Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Medical Sciences (PRIMS) at Kancheepuram district in six private colleges across the State and not in government colleges.
Disposing of an appeal preferred by 103 students, Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna said: “All 108 students of PRIMS cannot be accommodated in government colleges. The students have been directed to be accommodated in other medical colleges. We find no reason to interfere with the order impugned (under challenge).”
Since the students had already completed one year of their studies and had to be admitted in the second year of the course, the judges directed the authorities concerned to make sure that the students get admitted in the private colleges at the earliest.
On December 13, 2018, a single judge of the High Court directed the State government to shift all 108 students to 22 government medical colleges in the State. Though the government implemented the 2017 directive, it did not do so in the case of the 2018 order, which was taken on appeal before a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam who too initially passed an interim order directing the government to shift the 108 students to government colleges.
However, pursuant to a review petition filed by the State, the Bench permitted the government to send a proposal to the MCI to accommodate the students both in government as well as private colleges. Thereafter, the State wrote to the Centre as well as MCI expressing difficulties in accommodating the students in government colleges.
Accepting the request, both the MCI as well as Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare granted permission to shift the 108 students to six private colleges.
The Bench recorded the submission of Additional Advocate General Narmadha Sampath and Special Government Pleader T.M. Pappaiah that they would be charged as per the quantum determined by the private colleges fees fixation committee every year.
The six colleges were Raja Muthiah Medical College and Research Institute in Chidambaram, Karpagavinayaga Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre in Kancheepuram, Karpagam Faculty of Medical Science and Research in Coimbatore, Tagore Medical College and Hospital in Vandalur, Vellammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute in Madurai and Adiparasakthi Medical College and Research Institute in Melmaruvathur.
