New Delhi: In a serious allegation against the Union government, an ad hoc committee appointed by the Supreme Court to run the affairs of Medical Council of India (MCI) has alleged that the Centre bypassed it and gave recognition to certain medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh.

A Bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice A R Lakshmanan directed the Union government to file its response to the allegations of the ad hoc committee and requested Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee, Amicus Curiae Harish Salve and senior advocate K K Venugopal, who appeared for MCI, to sit together and resolve the controversy.

The ad hoc committee, appointed by the apex court, constituted of eminent doctors namely N Rangabashyam of Chennai, Prof P N Tandon of New Delhi, S K Bhansali of Mumbai and S Kantha of Bangalore.

The application moved through Salve alleged that the MCI was called upon to examine the application by the Andhra Medical Colleges, set up by the state government, for increase in their intake capacity of students.

"The ad hoc committee along with the executive committee of the MCI did not find it appropriate to recommend the grant of such permission as it found substantial shortcomings in the infrastructure and staffing," the application said.

PTI