Kerala High Court Disposes PIL On ESIC Medical College At Kollam, Says MBBS Course Must Comply With NMC Norms Before Approval

The Court has directed the proposal of approval to be expedited within four weeks.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M was considering a petition filed by Lok Sabha Member N.K. Premachandran seeking intervention regarding the establishment of the medical college.

According to the petition, the proposed medical college is to be established by upgrading the ESI Model and Super Specialty Hospital at Asramam, Kollam. The project, estimated to cost approximately ₹600 crore, has reportedly received in-principle approval from the ESIC and the Union Government.

The petitioner contends that despite the availability of central funding and the submission of necessary applications by ESIC, the Kerala Government has failed to issue the Essentiality Certificate, which is a prerequisite under the regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for establishing a new medical college.

During the hearing, the court noted that the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), the entity proposing to establish the medical college, had not been made a party to the proceedings. The Bench observed that since ESIC was the body directly affected by the issues raised, the absence of the corporation in the party array made the maintainability of the PIL precarious.

The court also took note of a communication dated February 3, 2026, from the Kerala government stating that an Essentiality Certificate for starting the medical college could be issued only if the institution meets the infrastructure and regulatory requirements prescribed by the NMC under the Undergraduate Medical Education Regulations (UG-MSR), 2023.

It was submitted by the State that unless the government is satisfied that the infrastructure including the clinical infrastructure and other requirements proposed for the medical college does comply with NMC regulations, the Essentiality certificate cannot be issued.

“We take note of the submission made on behalf of the State Government in terms of the letter dated 03.02.2026, from the Under Secretary to Government of Kerala, Health and Family Welfare, that it is an integral undertaking in an Essentiality Certificate that in case the applicants fail to create infrastructure for the Medical College as per NMC norms and fresh admissions are stopped by the NMC, the State Government shall take over the responsibility of students already admitted in the College with the permission of NMC.” Court noted

The Bench also took note that an inspection had been scheduled to determine whether the facilities at the ESIC hospital satisfy the requirements necessary for issuing the Essentiality Certificate to start the MBBS programme.

Emphasising the need for additional medical education infrastructure, the court observed that while the requirement for an MBBS course at the hospital cannot be ignored, the institution must fully comply with the NMC guidelines before approval is granted.

“In the event the Government is satisfied that the ESI has complied with the applicable norms under the UG-MSR, 2023, it shall expedite the issuance of the requisite certificate to commence the MBBS course as requested by the ESI.” the Court said.

The Special Government Pleader submitted that the proposed medical college is necessary and that the approval process should be expedited if all statutory conditions are met. The court recorded the submission and noted that the State would take a decision preferably within four weeks, subject to compliance with regulatory norms.

Case Title: N.K. Premachandran v Union of India and Ors.

Case No: WP(PIL) 48/ 2026

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 130

Counsel for Petitioner: George Poonthottam (Sr.), Nisha George, A.L Navaneeth krishnan, Kavya Varma M M

Counsel for Respondent: Arun B Varghese (CGC), P G Pramod (Sr. GP), Prenjith Kumar, Helen, S Ganesh,