The Madras High Court has directed the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to surrender a total of 26 MBBS seats to the Puducherry government quota, 13 seats during the academic year 2025-26 and 13 more during 2026-27.
Justice A Dhandapani passed the order on October 30, 2024, in a case challenging a Government Order voiding the admission of 26 students in the MBBS course for the academic year 2017-18 citing non-compliance with the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) guidelines, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
The Puducherry CENTAC Student Parents Welfare Association, represented by its President M Narayanasamy, filed a formal complaint with the Principal Secretary, CENTAC Management, and the National Medical Commission (NMC) in New Delhi, calling for an investigation into the alleged malpractice regarding admissions.
He stated that in 2017-18, PIMS, along with Venkateswara and Manakula Vinayagar Medical Colleges, allegedly bypassed the procedure of admission by admitting 95 students independently, without considering the merit list published by CENTAC.
Consequently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) voided the admissions, removing the students involved from the colleges for the academic year.
In response, the three colleges appealed to the courts to overturn the MCI’s cancellation order.
The high court's October 30 judgment now requires PIMS to forfeit 26 of its 150 seats due to the unauthorised admissions, but prevents the college from cancelling current enrollments.
As a remedial measure, PIMS has committed to allocating 13 medical seats each to the Puducherry government quota for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years, stated The New Indian Express report.
