KOCHI: Kannur Medical College, which the Kerala government is now trying to bail out through an ordinance seeking to regularise the admissions of 150 candidates for the first year MBBS course made last year (2016), had flouted every direction of the Justice J.M. James-led admission supervisory committee (ASC) appointed by the state government as per the Supreme Court order for overseeing the admission process. The process had started with the Kerala High Court directing the college to make all admissions after inviting applications online. It also directed the college to get the applications and the prospectus scrutinised by the ASC.
However, the ASC found that there was no proper website inviting online applications. It also found that the college provided an alternative website, but never informed the committee about it. Worse, the alternative site provided no link for admissions, creating confusion among the applicants and undermining transparency of the process. The ASC, which found the medical college compromised merit–based admission procedure, cancelled the admissions on September 15, 2016 and directed the college to invite online applications afresh with a fresh deadline of September 19. The panel had to intervene again after students complained that there was no web link.
Meanwhile, the High Court, which found that the college had disobeyed its orders and the directions of the ASC, on October 28 imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh and directed the ASC to scrutinise the admission process. The ASC, which took up the task, found that the admission process was completed with no transparency and after compromising merit. The lapses were gross: there were no online applications; the paper applications had no photograph or signature of the applicant. Even the name of the college or the date of application was not mentioned. The college, however, went ahead with the admission process without publishing the details on its website and made random admissions from the list instead. It also refused to comply with the direction of the ASC to retain a list of all applicants, a rejection list, an eligible candidates’ list, an admission list, a waiting list and a non-joining list, if any, till the ASC approved it and the students are registered by the KUHS.
Having found that the college had failed to pass the triple tests of merit, transparency and non-exploitative fee set by the Supreme Court, flouted the orders of the High Court and disregarded its own directions, the ASC set aside the admissions on November 14. The High Court, and later the Supreme Court, upheld this order. With Governor P. Sathasivam, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, returning the ordinance, the attempts by the LDF government to regularise these admissions have come to a naught. At least for the time being
