CHENNAI: The Madras High Court today ordered transfer of 142 students of a now-defunct private medical college to 22 government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.
Justice N Kirubakaran passed the order on a batch of pleas moved by students of Annai Medical College and Hospital Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, seeking their transfer.
The students claimed they were admitted to the college under the state and management quota in 2016-17 and had almost completed a year.
When classes were to commence for the second year, the central government in its May 31 order declined to confirm the conditional letter of permission granted to the college and debarred it from admitting students for the next academic session.
Since the college was "literally abandoned" by its management after the ban, the 142 students could not attend the college due to the lack of infrastructure, they claimed.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that the Essentiality Certificate issued by the state on September 3, 2010 was cancelled on May 11, 2011. Therefore, it was not obligatory for the state to accommodate the students.
Refusing to concur with this submission, the judge said "It is not only the duty of the state government to go by the undertaking, but also safeguard the hapless innocent students who continue to suffer for no fault of them." He said they could not continue their studies from October 2017. That fact must also be taken into consideration sympathetically by the state government.
The judge then directed the central government, Medical Council of India and the state to take appropriate steps to accommodate the students in 22 government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.