LexStreakRead free →
Supreme Court of India· 10 February 2023

Does a subsequent inspection conducted in pursuance of an interim order entitle a college to proceed with admissions made in defiance of a stay?

NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION & ANR. v. ANNASAHEB CHUDAMAN PATIL MEMORIAL MEDICAL COLLEGE & ORS.
2023 INSC 117 · Civil Appeal No 966 of 2023
Coram: Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud; Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha; J B Pardiwala
🔖 Save this judgment🔔 Follow Art.142 Constitution of India📬 Get today's judgments
View the original judgment PDFFree to read. To download it — or the LexStreak typeset copy with the headnote and Points of Law — create an account; downloads are part of the Pro plan.
Answer

No. The subsequent inspection conducted in pursuance of the interim order of this Court did not entitle the Medical College to take the law for granted; it plainly acted in defiance of the order of this Court.

Headnote

Constitution of India — Art. 142 — Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 — s. 11 — Medical college admissions made after a stay — Overreach of the process of the Court — Penalty deposit — Constitution of India — Art. 142 — Stay of a High Court order — Admissions made unilaterally — Held: Once this Court stays a High Court order permitting a medical college to admit students, the college cannot unilaterally proceed with the admission process; doing so is plainly in breach of the directions of this Court. (¶11) Constitution of India — Art. 142 — Inspection under interim order — Law taken for granted — Held further: A subsequent inspection conducted in pursuance of an interim order does not entitle the Medical College to take the law for granted. Admissions made in defiance of the order of this Court are an attempt to overreach the process of the Court. (¶11) Constitution of India — Art. 142 — Sanctity of the judicial process — Penalty deposit — Held further: Having due regard to the consequences to the students and to the sanctity of the judicial process, such admissions may be left in place under Article 142, conditional on the college depositing a penalty not recoverable from the students. Appeals disposed of. (¶13, 15)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 11Notwithstanding the above deficiencies, the High Court, while upholding the withdrawal of the permission to admit 50 students, permitted the Medical College to continue with the admission of 100 students. This order was stayed by this Court on 8 April 2022. Once the order of the High Court permitting the Medical College to admit 100 students for 2021-22 was stayed, the Medical College could not have unilaterally chosen to proceed with the admission process. This is plainly in breach of the directions of this Court. The Medical College has made an attempt to overreach the process of the Court. The subsequent inspection conducted in pursuance of the interim order of this Court did not entitle the Medical College to take the law for granted. It plainly acted in defiance of the order of this Court.
Acts & Sections
Art.142 Constitution of IndiaArt.226 Constitution of Indias.11 Indian Medical Council Act, 1956

One judgment a day. That's the whole habit.

Read the full text of NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION & ANR. v. ANNASAHEB CHUDAMAN PATIL MEMORIAL MEDICAL COLLEGE & ORS. — and get the Supreme Court's output as a five-minute daily read, with plain-language headnotes and the questions each judgment settles.

Create my free account

Free forever plan · 30 seconds · data stays in India

Open the full judgment →

Also decided in this judgment
Can a medical college proceed with admissions where the High Court order permitting those admissions has been stayed by the Supreme Court?Under Article 142 of the Constitution, can the Court direct that admissions made in breach of a stay shall not be disturbed, conditional on a penalty deposit?Is a penalty deposit directed against a medical college recoverable from the students?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections