Kannur, Karuna Medical College admissions: SC pulls up govt for passing ordinance

The Supreme Court Wednesday verbally pulled up Kerala government for having passed an ordinance aimed at superseding the ban on admissions in two medical colleges, Kannur Medical College and Karuna Medical College. The apex court observed that the tendency of the government trying to override court verdicts cannot be accepted, and they will be quashed.

The government should not tolerate violation of law in the name of students' interest, and if this kind of ordinances are passed what would be the fate of scams like Vyapam, wondered the bench consisting of Judges Arun Misra and U. U. Lalit. It sounded likely that after the hearing on Monday of the government's side also, the ordinance may be struck down.

It was following irregularities discovered in the admissions to Kannur and Karuna medical colleges that the Supreme Court banned admissions in those colleges. The court action came following the finding by the Admissions Supervisory Committee that during academic year 2016-17, Kannur Medical College had admitted 150 and Karuna 30 students in violation of rules. However, the state government issued an ordinance to override the court order. Following this, Medical Council of India filed a writ petition.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja however explained that the ordinance was passed on humanitarian grounds in order to save the students from the Management's wrong. She added that after studying the legal aspects, further steps would be considered.