NMC shuts down Vaishno Devi medical college over severe deficiencies, students relocated

The college had applied under NMC's public notices dated December 5, 2024 and December 19, 2024 for establishing a new medical college with an intake of 50 MBBS seats for AY 2025-26. After processing the application, MARB granted a Letter of Permission on September 8, 2025 to start the MBBS course. The LoP was subject to several conditions, including maintaining essential standards, allowing surprise inspections, providing accurate information, and rectifying deficiencies before renewal. MARB also reserved the right to withdraw or cancel the permission in case of misrepresentation, non-compliance, or failure to meet regulatory norms.

After issuance of the LoP, the Commission received multiple complaints alleging inadequate infrastructure, clinical material, and qualified full-time teaching faculty and resident doctors at the college. The complaints also pointed to inadequate inpatient and outpatient load and poor bed occupancy statistics, among other issues. Acting under Section 28(7) of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which empowers MARB to conduct surprise evaluations of medical institutions without prior notice, a team of assessors carried out an inspection at the college on January 2, 2026. This inspection formed the basis of the subsequent adverse findings.

The assessment report highlighted extensive deficiencies in faculty strength, clinical material, and infrastructure at the institute. These included a 39 per cent deficiency in teaching faculty and a 65 per cent deficiency in tutors, demonstrators and senior residents against the prescribed requirement. Patient load and clinical services were also found to be far below norms, with OPD attendance of 182 at 1 pm against the required 400 and bed occupancy at 45 per cent against the required 80 per cent. Intensive care units reportedly had only about 50 per cent average bed occupancy, while the average number of deliveries was approximately 25 per month, which MARB termed "grossly deficient".

Further, student practical laboratories in some departments and the research laboratory were not available. Lecture theatres did not conform to Minimum Standard Requirements, the library had only 744 books against a requirement of 1,500, and just two journals against the required fifteen. The report also recorded the absence of an ART centre and facilities for management of MDR-TB, as well as gross infrastructure deficiencies in some departments, including lack of separate male and female wards. Only two operation theatres were functional against the requirement of five, there was no minor OT in the OPD area, and equipment for para-clinical subjects was deemed inadequate.

MARB cited Chapter V (Sanction & Penalty), Regulation 29 of the "Establishment of Medical Institutions, Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023", which treats non-compliance by a medical college as a penalizable offence. The deficiencies enumerated in the inspection report were categorised as non-compliance under these regulations. After considering the assessment, the Commission concluded that the institute had failed to meet the Minimum Standard Requirements specified in UGMSR-2023 for establishing and running a medical college.

Consequently, with the approval of the NMC Chairman, MARB decided to withdraw the Letter of Permission (dated September 8, 2025) with immediate effect. In addition to withdrawing the LoP, MARB has decided to invoke the Performance Bank Guarantee furnished by the college, as per the terms of the original permission. This step underscores the financial and regulatory consequences of non-compliance for the institution.

Significantly, the order expressly safeguards the interests of students already admitted for the academic year 2025-26. It states that all students admitted during counselling for AY 2025-26 shall be accommodated in other medical institutions within the Union Territory as supernumerary seats by the competent authority of the UT government. This means no admitted student will lose an MBBS seat due to the withdrawal decision; instead, they will be adjusted in other recognised medical colleges in Jammu & Kashmir over and above the regular sanctioned intake. The implementation of this relocation will rest with the UT's designated health and counselling authorities, who have been formally informed through copies of the order.

- ANI