Plea In Madras High Court Seeks Timely Publication Of Latest Medical College Infrastructure Assessment Reports, Online Availability Of Records

The bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Bharatha Chakravathy briefly heard the matter and posted it to January 19 for further hearing.

The plea was moved by an independent medical practitioner, Dr Mohamed Khader Meeran. In his plea, Meeran submitted that disclosure of assessment reports was crucial as it ensured transparency and accountability in the field of medical education. He submitted that the assessment reports allowed aspiring medical students to make an informed decision regarding the choice of their college and thus directly impacted the quality of medical education and the standard of healthcare professionals.

Meeran pointed out that in March last year, the Central Information Commission (CIC) had advised the NMC to upload Medical college assessment reports on its website. However, the NMC had failed to take any action to publish medical college assessment reports on the official website.

He added that though in June 2023, the NMC published a gazette notification stating that it would make available the latest annual assessment results and ratings of medical colleges, it did not endeavor to publish the entire assessment reports. This was, Meeran claimed, a violation of the orders of the CIC and Section 4(1) (b) of the Right to Information Act 2005.

Countering the NMC's argument that the assessment report contained personal information and thus could not be published, Meeran submitted that the assessment report did not contain any personal information but was a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act to be placed on the website of NMC. He added that the details of the medical practitioners were added only after getting their consent.

Pointing to another 2018 order of the CIC, Meeran submitted that the CIC had directed the Medical Council of India to publish all assessment/inspection reports of medical institutions. Meeran pointed out that the NMC, being the legal successor of the MCI was obligated to disclose the medical college assessment reports.

Thus, Meeran submitted that the non-disclosure of assessment reports by the NMC is not only a violation of the CIC's orders but also a failure to fulfill its legal obligation under the National Medical Commission Act 2019.

Accordingly, he sought directions on the NMC to promptly publish the infrastructure assessment report of medical colleges and to ensure the availability of historical assessment reports on the official website.

Case Title: Dr. Mohamed Khader Meeran AS v. Union of India and Others

Case No: WP 35573 of 2023