CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to process the application of the Chettinad Institute of Medical Sciences for issuing an Essentiality Certificate without insisting on prior production of the environmental clearance and approval certificate from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).
The directions were issued by the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan on the appeal filed by the Chettinad Academy of Research and Education.
The academy had acquired the medical college run by the PRIST Trust and applied for approval from the National Commission (NMC) for admitting 150 students from the 2025-26 academic year. Citing the Essentiality Certificate was obtained in the name of PRIST Trust, NMC directed the appellant to get a fresh Essentiality Certificate in its name.
The bench said the state government cannot act arbitrarily or insist upon parameters outside the scope of Form 2 or the governing Parliamentary legislation. Setting aside the single judge’s order, the bench directed the secretary of health and family welfare to process and consider the application strictly within the parameters and criteria set forth in Form 2.