New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside its earlier order directing the Medical Council of India (MCI) to grant an increase in the additional intake of students from 100 to 150 to three private medical colleges for this academic session.

While setting aside the Sep 29 judgment of a single judge bench, Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Sunil Gaur asked the board of governors of the council to consider the applications of the medical colleges and take a final decision on merits within a week.

"The corrective course warranted is to give a direction to the board of governors to consider the inspection reports and such other relevant material and take a decision on merits whether or not the admission capacity has to be increased," said the bench.

The court order came while disposing of the MCI's plea against the single judge's order for increase in the number of additional intake from 100 to 150 in each college.

The larger bench also restrained the private medical colleges - Teerthanker Mahaveer Institute of Management and Technology, Rama Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, and School of Medical Sciences and Research, Sharda University - from proceeding with counseling and fill the seats.

"We require the board of governors to take a final decision on merits within a week from today by treating the writ petitioners eligible to seek enhancement of seats from 100 to 150 in the MBBS Course pertaining to the current academic year and if it is found that the writ petitioners are entitled to increase the seats in view of they having met the requisite criteria in terms of infrastructure to pass the necessary orders," observed the bench.

On Sep 29, Justice Kailash Gambhir, in his 110-page judgment, said: "The petitioners before this court are seeking increase in additional intake and it is not in dispute that for seeking the said increase they had applied within the stipulated time as prescribed in the regulations."

He directed the MCI to grant permission to these colleges to increase the number of seats additional intake from 100 to 150 each in the MBBS course from this academic session.

The court justified its decision by saying that a developing country like India needed more doctors to improve the health facilities. IANS