Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court on Friday (August 1) stayed the interim order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which restrained institutes offering paramedical courses, which were granted recognition by the State Paramedical Council in 2025, to conduct academic sessions for the years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the interim order while issuing notice in a Special Leave Petition filed by the Registrar of the MP Paramedical Council.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the MP Paramedical Council, submitted that it is a statutory body. The courses usually start in November every year. Because of COVID, the courses got delayed by two years, and till 2022, no admissions took place. On March 5, 2024, the MP Council was dissolved in the wake of the Central Act, National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021. By this time, applications for the academic year 2023-24 were received, and matter could not proceed. On November 11,2024, the State Government revived the Council, since the regulations under the Central Act were yet to be framed. Between January to July this year, 166 institutions were granted recognition for the year 2023-24, and it was clarified that the teaching sessions would not be retrospective. "So if a student comes today, he will have to spend two years, though technically it goes back to 2023-24. Not that he will have retrospective studying from 2023," Rohatgi said. In March to July, recognition for next year, 2024-2025 was also granted. Rohatgi added that by November this year, the sessions will be for the current this year.

Rohatgi submitted that the High Court's interim order was passed in an application filed by Law Students Association, who have nothing to do with paramedical courses. "The High Court seems to feel that if I grant recognition for 2023-24, the classes are deemed to have started from 2023 and completed now. This is not correct," the senior counsel said.

"How can Law Students challenge this? Now it is completely frozen. We need paramedics, lab assistants, and technicians. Even the Supreme Court has extended the limitation period due to Covid," he added.

"What do the law students have to do with this?" CJI observed while passing the interim stay order.

The High Court observed that institutes offering paramedical course for 2023-24 when they themselves came into existence in 2025 belied logic. The bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Deepak Khot observed :

"Undisputedly, the course for 2023-24 could not be carried as none of these institutions came into existence. These 166 institutions could only be deemed to have come into existence from the date recognition was granted by State Paramedical Council. That recognition itself was granted in year 2025. It belies all logic, sensibility and questions the sanity of a reasonable man how these institutions could be allowed to start the course for the year 2023-24...The institutions are categorically directed that they shall take no steps to start the session year 2023-24. Any attempt to do so (by institutions) shall construed as a direct violation of the order passed by this court leading to contempt proceedings. Likewise the course for 2024-25 also shall remain stayed..."

Case : REGISTRAR, M. P. PARAMEDICAL COUNCIL VS. LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION | 41298/2025