Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court has directed the Mohammadiya Educational Society, which runs Fatima Institute of Medical Sciences, to refund forthwith the entire amount collected from students towards fee and other expenses for the academic year 2015-16.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice P. Naveen Rao, while allowing a writ appeal by the Medical Council of India challenging an interim order of a single judge granted in favour of the Society, noted that students admitted were not allotted to the petitioner-college by MCI or NTR University of Health Sciences.
The facts of the case are that the petitioner society moved a petition before the High Court challenging the action of MCI in rejecting to accord recognition to the college for admissions into the college for the academic year 2015-16.
A single judge while directing MCI to grant provisional approval to the petitioner college made it clear that students allotted and admissions made before the interim orders should be notified that the admission is based on provisional permission and subject to further orders of the Court and no equities could be claimed by any student.
The petitioner society simultaneously moved another writ petition before the Delhi High Court also challenging the decision of MCI. After noticing that the petitioner moved two petitions in two different High Courts seeking similar relief, MCI moved a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court. MCI later withdrew the SLP after the Apex Court granted leave to it to challenge the order of the single judge before the Hyderabad High Court.
After hearing rival contentions of the appellant’s and petitioner’s society, the bench noted that the petitioners simultaneously intended to submit two writ petitions before two different High Courts on the same cause of action and neither the Delhi High Court nor this Court was informed about the other writ petition.
The bench observed that “from the facts, it is clear that the petitioners made a clear attempt to somehow snatch/obtain interim order from either of the High Courts”. While dismissing the writ petitions of the Society, the High Court bench also made it clear that this order does not come in the way of students to work out their remedies as available in law against the petitioners, if so advised.
