Ill-conceived medical bill aborted as Governor denies assent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor P Sathasivam on Saturday denied his assent to Kerala Professional Colleges (Regularisation of Admissions in Medical Colleges) Bill, 2018, which was passed unanimously by the Kerala assembly on April 4 but was promptly stayed by the Supreme Court the very next day. The governor returned the bill to the government, noting that he was “withholding his assent”, virtually rendering the bill defunct.

The medical bill thus became the first bill in the state in which the governor used his discretion to withhold the bill under Article 200 of the constitution, which means that the bill won’t have any validity, even for consideration by the assembly again.

With the bill falling through, it is almost certain that 180 MBBS students from Kannur and Karuna medical colleges will have to discontinue their courses. The LDF government and the opposition had jointly supported this bill in an attempt to regularise the admission of these students, though the Medical Council of India and the Admission and Supervisory Committee for Professional Colleges in Kerala had quashed the admissions saying it was not done in compliance with law and was illegal. The two medical colleges in question are self-financing colleges, and the political class’s effort to support them through the bill had drawn widespread criticism.

Prior to this bill, the state’s Plachimada tribunal bill that was passed unanimously by the assembly was returned by the President using his powers under Article 111 of the constitution. According to Article 200 of the constitution, when a bill has been passed by the legislative assembly or state, it shall be presented to the governor and the governor shall declare either that he assents to the bill or that he withholds assent or that he reserves the bill for the consideration of the President.