Puducherry: The medical aspirants and students-parents forums have welcomed the Madras high court’s order directing a private medical college and hospital in Puducherry to strictly participate in all centralised state counselling sessions in the admission of students to undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses and also to adhere to govt-regulated fee structures.Pondicherry state students-parents welfare association president V Balasubramanian urged the govt and the Centralised Admission Committee (Centac) to implement the high court’s order to ensure all management category seats are allocated transparently through open state counselling.He demanded that the health department and fee committee closely monitor the admission process to ensure students are charged strictly as per official orders, warning against unauthorised fee demands or capitation. “It is a major legal victory for medical aspirants and students-parents bodies. Now the govt must implement the high court order in letter and spirit immediately. The govt must equip itself to initiate swift administrative and legal action against any private institution attempting to boycott state counselling or violate fee regulations,” he said.Madras high court judge Justice Krishnan Ramasamy ordered the management of Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (SVMCH) and Sri Venkateshwaraa Dental College (SVDC) to immediately participate in ongoing state UG and PG counselling conducted by the Centac. He passed the order while rejecting the management’s pleas seeking exemption from centralised state allocations.The high court pointed out that the institutions are legally obligated to collect only the fee structure fixed by the fee committee for private professional colleges in Puducherry in compliance with the Supreme Court benchmark established in Islamic Academy of Education vs. State of Karnataka case.Addressing claims that the institutions were exempt due to obtaining “Deemed to be University” status, the high court noted an official clarification dated Oct 30, 2026, establishing that the declaration remains purely conditional and subject to the outcome of pending court proceedings.“…this court clarifies that the mere pendency or filing of an appeal does not operate as a stay, and will in no way absolve or prevent the respondent-college (SVMCH and SVDC) from participating in the ongoing UG as well as PG counselling process,” said Justice Krishnan Ramasamy.
