MP High Court Permits Paramedical Council To Submit Recognition Records Of Colleges In Sealed Cover Amid Locus Standi Issue In SC

In the ongoing case concerning the alleged irregularities and illegalities in the recognition of paramedical institutes, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday (August 7) permitted the MP Paramedical Council to submit documents relating to recognition granted to various colleges in a sealed cover.

This, came in view of the pending issue of locus standi of the petitioner Law Students' Association before the Supreme Court, which had last week stayed the high court's July 16 interim order which had restrained institutes offering paramedical courses granted recognition by the Council in 2025 to conduct academic sessions for the years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

The division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla in its order dictated:

"Learned counsel for Paramedical Counsel has also submitted that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has also questioned the locus standi of the respondent to question the actions of the paramedical council. The question of locus has to be answer to be answered by the respondent before the Supreme Court. However while passing the order 16-7-2025 this court had prima facie taken cognizance of what appears to be illegalities in manner in which recognition was granted to certain paramedical colleges in state of MP which, the counsel for petitioner has revealed through photographs that the same physical establishment has been used for both nursing college and paramedical college"

The court said that it was on that basis that it appeared to the high court that "all may not be well" in the manner in which recognitions have been granted by paramedical and nursing councils to these colleges and as the matter relates to public health. It had also noted that those who pass out of these colleges may be directly employed and if they are coming out of institutions which are "fly by night", then such persons may pose great danger to the health of the people in the state.

It thereafter said,

"Learned counsel for the petitioner has asked for the documents of the Paramedical Council relating to the recognition granted to various colleges. Objecting to this, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent – Paramedical Council – has submitted that since the question of locus standi is pending before the Supreme Court, it may not be appropriate to hand over documents to the counsel for the petitioner at this stage. We are in agreement with the submission put forth by the learned counsel for the Paramedical Council...As very question of locus standi of the petitioners is itself under scrutiny before the Supreme Court it may not be appropriate to hand over the documents pertaining to recognition granted to paramedical colleges at this juncture for if the Supreme Court holds that the petitioner does not have a locus standi to question the recognition...then possession of data with the petitioners may have an undesirable effect. Therefore...counsel for the Paramedical Council has requested that the documents pertaining to the recognition processes and recognition granted by the MP paramedical council to various paramedical colleges in the State of Madhya Pradesh be placed before this Court in sealed cover in soft copy be placed before this court". 

Earlier on July 16, the court had issued an interim order restraining institutes recognised in 2025 from conducting admissions for the academic sessions for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. The court had questioned the rationale behind granting recognition in 2025 to colleges that allowed retrospective admissions.

Meanwhile the petitioner's counsel further submitted that as per the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting of MP Medical Science University (MPMSU) dated August 4, wherein it was decided that the Quality Council of India (QCI) would conduct inspections of paramedical institutes.

Referring to the recognition process, the petitioners claimed that several institutes were operating both nursing and paramedical colleges from the same premises. It was submitted that cosmetic measures, such as changing the flex board, were employed to pass required inspections by showing them as separate entities.

Based on this, the petitioner requested that the QCI be directed to specifically mention in its inspection reports whether the premises are being used exclusively for paramedical education. 

This was strongly opposed by the senior advocate representing the Paramedical Council that multiple statutory authorities were already investigating the legality of the colleges, and additional directions were unwarranted. 

However, the bench reflected on what it described as a growing "trust deficit" in public institutions. It noted in its order that during the initial phase of the nursing college affiliation case, the CBI was directed to verify colleges, but that several of its officers were allegedly corrupted by the very institutions they were tasked with investigating. This led to the CBI itself registering an FIR against its own officers. 

The court remarked, "So the question is who can the court believe in such situations where money speaks and integrity has no value. A kind of environment that exists, which is revealed by this case against the CBI itself, is that it is not a crime to be dishonest; it is a crime to get caught". 

Given this context, the court said,

"In such a scenario, this court finds no harm in the prayer of learned counsel for the petitioner that the QCI be directed to specifically endorse in the course of inspecting paramedical colleges that no other establishment or institution, like a nursing college or any other educational institution, is being run from the same establishment".

The matter is next listed on August 12.

Case Title: Law Students Association v State of MP (WP - 27497/2025) 

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