State government to take legal action over deemed university status for three private medical colleges

State government to take legal action over deemed university status for three private medical colleges

Health Minister K.G. Arunraj

at the inauguration of the NalamAI WhatsApp chatbot service.B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI. 09.07.2026

With three private medical colleges obtaining ‘deemed to be university’ status, Tamil Nadu will lose 461 medical seats from the State quota, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on Wednesday. He added that the State government was exploring legal action, and would file a writ petition soon.

Two days ago, the State government came to know from the website of the National Medical Commission that Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital, and St. Peter’s Medical College had been granted deemed university status, he said.

As a result, the State will lose 461 seats from its pool, Dr. Arunraj said, adding: “These institutions will no longer be required to follow the reservation policy, 7.5% horizontal reservation for government school students, or adhere to the fee structure prescribed by the State government. Instead, they could fill MBBS and BDS seats independently.” Additionally, 35 seats under the 7.5% quota would be lost, he said.

The State government will also take up the issue with the Centre to make a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the State government mandatory for private medical colleges to obtain deemed university status, he said.

“Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Srinivasan Medical College are owned by DMK MLA Kathiravan. As they fall under the Tamil Nadu Private University category, they did not apply for NOC with the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, and applied directly to the University Grants Commission,” he told reporters after inaugurating facilities at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.

The deemed university status had been granted to St. Peter’s Medical College, Hosur, subject to an appeal filed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, he said. Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College had also applied for the status, he added.

Explaining the process, the Minister said private institutions seeking deemed university status must first obtain an NOC from their affiliated university. The affiliated university is required to issue the NOC within 60 days, failing which it shall be deemed to have been granted as per UGC rules.

In June 2023, the Karpaga Vinayaga institution, which has an engineering college and a medical college, had applied to Anna University and Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University for an NOC. 

However, no action was taken for 60 days. The NOC was issued in September 2023 during the previous regime, and the same was revoked two months later. The institution approached the High Court, and in April 2025, the court ruled that as the NOC was not issued within 60 days, it was deemed to have been issued as per UGC rules. No appeal was filed against the order by the previous government, he said.

The Minister also launched NalamAI, a WhatsApp chatbot service. The service, available on 96192 22999, has been introduced in 22 districts, where the public can generate the outpatient slips without having to wait in queues.