Thereafter the matter was again listed before us for hearing.
10.Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, assailed the impugned report submitted by the Medical Council of India on various grounds including that the same is arbitrary and biased.
11.Dr. Rajeev Dhawan has drawn our attention to the Inspection Report and submitted that as a matter of fact, the Medical Council of India was fully aware that the inspection was carried out for the academic year 2015-2016 and, therefore, there is no reason why the petitioner-Trust shall not be granted permission for the academic year 2015-2016. Dr. Dhawan further drawn our attention to the decision rendered by a three-Judges Bench of this Court in the case of Royal Medical Trust (Regd.) and Another vs. Union of India and Another, reported in 2015 (9) SCALE 68, and submitted that the respondent-Medical Council of India totally failed in the discharge of their duties and acted in a totally biased manner. Dr. Dhawan further submitted that the JUDGMENT decision of Medical Council of India recommending to cancel the prayer for approval not only for the academic year 2015-2016 but also for the academic year 2016-2017 is wholly illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner, therefore, reserves its right to challenge the said recommendation before the appropriate forum in accordance with law.
12.On the other hand, Mr. Vikas Singh, learned senior counsel appearing for the respondent-Medical Council of India, drawn our attention to the inspection report submitted by the Medical Council of India and contended that in addition to various deficiencies which are not remediable, fake faculty was also found in the said Institution.
13.Mr. Vikas Singh further submitted that the instant special leave petition was heard along with Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 15043 of 2015 titled as Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College versus Medical Council of India and Another and in the JUDGMENT similar facts and circumstances of the case, this Court, by a reasoned judgment dated 31st August, 2015 dismissed the special leave petition mainly after considering the statutory time schedule which is already over and held that no positive direction can be issued for the academic year 2015-2016.
14.Before we consider the rival contentions made by the learned counsel, we would like to refer the report and the decision of the executive committee of MCI dated 5.8.2015 in compliance to our order dated 15.7.2015. From the said report, it reveals that the executive committee of the council considered the council’s assessment report and noted many deficiencies. Some of the major deficiencies are extracted hereinbelow:- “1) Deficiency of teaching faculty is 83% as detailed in the report.
2.Shortage of residents is 100% as detailed in the report.
4.As many as 42 Senior/Junior Residents as detailed in the report have provided wrong information in the Declaration Form regarding address proof as during round it was found that no staff member/faculty/resident doctor is staying/residing in the staff quarters/residents’ hostel in the JUDGMENTcampus; 6). OPD: Attendance was 150-175 on day of assessment which is grossly inadequate. Institute has given figure of 707 which is inflated. When the assessors arrived in the morning, few patients were found. After some time, during rounds, around 150 people were found sitting in front of registration counters, with only 3-4 patients actually registering at counters. When visited again in the afternoon, the same people were found sitting there without any intention of registering at OPD counter. Many patients in the OPD were having very minor/fake complaints for which normally no person will come to the hospital. In departmental OPD registers, no information regarding admitted patients was given. In Medical OPD, at 1 p.m., 61 patients were claimed to have been seen but there was not a single patient was admitted. There was no display board of OPD timings, doctor’s name, Unit information.
7). There was NIL patient in Casualty on day of assessment.
12). There were NIL Major & Minor operations in the hospital on day of assessment. 13). There were NIL Normal Delivery & Caesarean Section on day of assessment. 16). MEU: It is not furnished.
24). ICUs: There was NIL patient in ICCU & SICU and only 1 patient in NICU/PICU on day of assessment.
31). There is Engineering college in the same campus. Engineering books & instruments were found in some rooms of medical college hostel/quarters. It appears as if the hostels & quarters shown for Medical College are actually used by Engineering College.
32). Dean has refused to sign the report after reading it for 1 hour due to instruction from the management.
33). Other deficiencies as pointed out in the assessment report.”
15.The executive committee, therefore, decided to apply clause 8(3)(1)(d)JUDGMENTof the Establishment of Medical College Regulation (Amendment), 2010 and further decided to return the application for establishment of a new Medical College of the petitioner to the Central Government recommending disapproval of the scheme under Section 10A of IMC Act, 1956 for the academic year 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.
16.Indisputably, now it is for the Central Government to approve or disapprove and to take a final decision on the report of the executive committee of the Council.
17.The crucial question that falls for consideration is as to whether this Court having regard to the facts of the case and the decision taken by the Council, which is not even looked into by the Central Government, this Court can issue any direction to consider the grant of permission to the petitioner for the academic year 2015-2016.
18.Another Special Leave Petition being SLP (C) No. 15043 of 2015 was heard along with this case at the preliminary stage and decided by judgment dated 31.08.2015, in which one of us (M.Y. Eqbal, J.) was a member of the Bench. In that case, this Court elaborately discussed the time schedule which has to be strictly adhered and followed in catena of decisions. After discussing the ratio laid down in number of cases, the Bench observed:- “20. On an analysis of the aforesaid decisions, it is crystal clear that the time schedule is required to be strictly observed. Hence, it would not be appropriate to issue any direction for consideration of petitioner’s case for the ongoing academic session 2015-16 in which inspection is yet to be made. It is too late in the day to direct inspection for the session 2015-16 as all the dates fixed in the time schedule are over and fixation of time schedule has a purpose behind it and from a particular date the session has to commence and part of seats to be filled by a competitive examination held on all-India basis. Any relaxation in the time schedule would make holding of examinations on an all India basis a farce and several complications would arise. Everything cannot be allowed to go haywire. The entire curriculum would be unsettled in case breach of time schedule is permitted. The power given to Central Government to relax can be exercised in exceptional circumstances and that too without disturbing the academic session. The decision-making process after inspection has various steps and it cannot be ordered to be done in haste resulting in sub-standard education and half-baked doctors.
21.On behalf of the petitioner, reliance has been placed on a decision of this Court in S.L.P. [C] No.14838/2015 – Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Science and Technology Trust v.Medical Council of India & Anr. (decided on 15.7.2015) wherein this Court has directed the inspection to be made and to submit the recommendation in a sealed cover after four weeks to this Court. No doubt about it that the application which was filed was for the academic session 2015-16 but this Court has not decided the question whether inspection would enure for the benefit of the ongoing academic session 2015-16 and in case on inspection it is decided to recommend the prayer made whether it would be for academic year 2016-17 or for the ongoing session 2015-16 and also question of breach of time schedule. What has not been decided, cannot be deduced by inferential process. What would be the ultimate recommendation on inspection, can also not be anticipated. The requisite Committee of the MCI and Central Government have to ultimately consider the report/recommendations. Various aspects including time schedule are required to be taken into consideration for issuance of any positive direction as to session.
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23.Considering the statutory time schedule and that the same is already over and in the facts and circumstances of the case, it would not be appropriate to direct inspection to be made and thereafter a decision to be taken for the current academic session 2015-16 as that would be in breach of the law laid down in various decisions of this Court which is binding. Thus, we direct that the application which has been submitted by the college for the academic session 2015-16 be considered for the next academic session, subject to fulfilment of other requisite formalities, as may be necessary, and thereafter the MCI shall conduct an inspection well-in-time as per the time schedule fixed under the Regulations of 1999. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed with the aforesaid modification. Ordered accordingly”
19.In the facts and circumstances of the case, no directions can be issued to the respondent to consider the case of the petitioner-college for the academic year 2015-2016 and 2016-17, since the matter is yet to be decided by the Central Government. However, we do not express any opinion with regard to the recommendation made by the Council to the Central Government disapproving the scheme for the academic year 2016-2017 also. Hence, it is for the petitioner to move the appropriate forum as against the decision of disapproval for the academic year 2016-2017.
20.With the aforesaid directions and observations, this special leave petition stands disposed of. (M.Y. EQBAL) (C. NAGAPPAN) New Delhi, September 17, 2015