MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has upheld the validity of Clause 6(G) of the Establishment of Medical Institutions, Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023, which permits only non-profit companies registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, to establish medical colleges.
A division bench of Justices Sandipkumar More and Abasaheb Shinde dismissed a petition filed by Ajeet Seeds Pvt Ltd, which sought permission to start a medical college in Ganganagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. The company had already set up a hospital in the area with an investment of ₹350 crore.
The firm approached the court after the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Central Government rejected its proposal, citing Clause 6(G) of the 2023 Regulations framed under the NMC Act. Challenging the rule, senior advocate VD Sapkal, appearing for the company, argued that Section 28 of the Act allows any “person” to establish a medical college. The term “person,” he said, is broadly defined to include universities, trusts, associations of persons and bodies of individuals, excluding only the Central Government.
Sapkal contended that the regulation gives a restrictive interpretation to the term by limiting it to Section 8 (not-for-profit) companies, thereby narrowing the scope of the parent statute. He further argued that the power to prescribe additional criteria lies with the Central Government, and that the NMC had overstepped its regulatory authority.
During the hearing on February 4, the order of which was made public on Wednesday, the court rejected these arguments. It was observed that restricting eligibility to non-profit entities aligns with the legislative intent of ensuring that medical education serves public interest and is not driven by commercial objectives.
Emphasising that a medical college cannot function as a purely commercial venture, the bench held that the authorities had rightly rejected the company’s application. It ruled that regulation 6(G) is consistent with the object and intent of the NMC Act and dismissed the petition.