Karnataka HC asks colleges to pay Rs 3cr to Army fund to allow students to complete BAMS course

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has permitted students in a batch of petitions who are found to be eligible to complete their studies of the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) Course, subject to the deposit of Rs 3 crore by the colleges they are studying in favour of the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund. A division bench of Justice DK Singh and Justice Venkatesh Naik T passed the order while disposing of the four petitions regarding the issue of admissions. The court penalised the colleges for admitting students over and above the seats allotted by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA). Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Shivamogga, admitted 20 students for the 1st year BAMS for the academic year 2022-23 and 27 students for the first year BAMS course for the academic year 2023-2024, without undergoing the process of counselling conducted by the KEA. Similarly, Achutha Ayurvedic Medical College, Bengaluru, filled up 39 seats on their own without the process of counselling and allotment made by the KEA. The court said that as a one-time measure, the students who are found to be eligible to take admissions should be permitted to complete their studies of the BAMS course. TMAE Society Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Shivamogga, was ordered to pay Rs 75 lakh each for the admission of 20 students in the 2022-23 batch of the 1-year BAMS course and 27 students in the 1-year BAMS course of 2023-24. Ramakrishna Medical Hospital and Research Centre, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, faced a Rs 75 lakh penalty for admitting 31 students independently during the 2022-23 academic year. Achutha Ayurvedic Medical College, Bengaluru, was also fined Rs 75 lakh for admitting 39 students in the same period for 1-year BAMS course. This amount should be deposited by the petitioner-colleges in favour of the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund, the court added. The court further said that the admissions of the eligible students would be subject to the said deposit made by the petitioner-colleges, and the proof of deposit should be submitted by the respective colleges before all three authorities-- National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), KEA and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences (RGUHS), including the registry of the court. The court stated that the petitioner-colleges will furnish an undertaking on affidavit that in future, they will take only those students who will be sent through counselling to the colleges by the KEA, and they will not admit any other student who is not sent by the KEA through counselling, except the foreign students. To save the interest of the students admitted by the petitioner-- colleges over and above the allotment made by the KEA, the court directed the petitioner colleges to furnish the details of all the students admitted before the KEA for verification about the eligibility of the students admitted by them. The KEA will examine the credentials of each student to find out whether such a student is eligible for admission or not.