Order reserved on plea against fixed-fee for 50% medical seats
CHENNAI: The First Bench of Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala, reserved orders on a batch of petitions filed by private medical colleges and deemed universities, challenging the order of National Medical Commission (NMC) that only government-fixed fees should be collected for 50% of medical seats in private institutions.
When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, counsels for private institutions said they could not be forced to collect only the government-fixed fees for 50% seats since the fee structures varied State to State. If the NMC desired to implement the order on the collection of government-fixed fees, then it should subsidise medical education institutions, they said.
The Additional Solicitor General, however, contended that the decision on the fees was taken after considering a report of an expert committee and it was intended to control profiteering by private institutions.