KERALA PRIVATE MEDICAL COLLEGE MANAGEMENTS ASSOCIATION REP BY ITS PRESIDENT K M NAVAS Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these writ petitions are filed by the same petitioners. Since common questions arise for determination, these writ petitions have been heard and are disposed of together. The common petitioner is an Association by name Kerala Private Medical College Managements Association (hereinafter referred to as the 'Association' for short). The second petitioner is a trustee of a Trust that is conducting the KMCT Medical College, Kozhikode. The Association is a registered organization of the consortium of Kerala Self Financed Professional Medical Colleges. A list of 18 members of the Association forms part of the writ petition.

(2.) The members of the Association are all conducting Self Financing Medical Colleges in Kerala. They are aggrieved by the manner in which students are being allotted by the respondents to their Colleges. Earlier, the members of the Association used to enter into seat sharing agreements with the Government stipulating the conditions subject to which and the manner in which seats were to be shared. Accordingly, there used to be Government seats as well as Management seats. A few seats out of the Management quota used to be earmarked as NRI seats for being filled up by candidates who are dependents of non-resident Indians. However, the practice of executing such agreements has been held to be unsustainable by this Court. Thereafter, the practice has been discontinued. As per the orders of the Apex Court, allotment of students to all the seats in Private Self Financing Medical Colleges are being done by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations on the basis of the inter se ranking of the candidates in the NEET rank list. The fees to be remitted by the candidates allotted to the respective Colleges are also received by the second respondent through Demand Drafts that are later on transmitted to the respective Colleges. The fees are also received by the second respondent pursuant to the direction of the Apex Court since it was noticed that some of the Colleges had been turning away the allotted candidates on some flimsy reason or the other without receiving fees from them.

(3.) According to the petitioners, the seat sharing agreements executed by them with the Government earlier, used to contain a provision entitling them to require the admitted students to furnish Bank Guarantees for payment of the fees for the entire course. Such a condition was necessary to safeguard the interests of the Self Financing Institutions which would be the loser, if a student discontinues his studies midway through the course. The said seat would then remain vacant throughout the duration of the course. Since Private Self Financing Colleges are entirely dependent on the fees paid by the students for their sustenance, such loss of revenue would seriously hamper even their existence. It is contended that during the year 2018-2019, no provision for furnishing a Bank Guarantee is available in the Prospectus. Therefore, it is contended that, the same is necessary to be directed to be included.