Amid an agitation launched by several groups, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) for starting an MBBS course with an intake of 50 seats for the academic session 2025–26.
Admissions to the first batch of medical students triggered a major uproar in Jammu, as a large number of admitted students reportedly belonged to a particular community. Several groups threatened protests, alleging irregularities in the admission process.
The BJP quickly joined the protest and demanded that the admission process be rescinded.
Subsequently, several social, political, religious, and trade bodies in Jammu formed a joint front — the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti — which demanded a rollback of the admissions.
Late on Tuesday evening, the NMC revoked the college's recognition by withdrawing its Letter of Permission on the grounds of non-compliance with minimum standards.
The BJP welcomed the move, terming the withdrawal of permission a case of "quality over quantity."
"Quality over quantity. NMC has revoked permission for 50 MBBS seats at SMVDIME due to failure to meet essential standards. It reaffirms commitment to quality. Every affected student will be seamlessly transferred to supernumerary seats in other UT colleges," said BJP MLA R. S. Pathania.
Consequent upon the withdrawal of the LoP, sources said that the students already admitted to the institute will be adjusted in various Government Medical Colleges across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Commission has directed that students admitted by SMVDIME for the academic year 2025–26 during counselling shall be accommodated as supernumerary seats in other Government Medical Colleges within the Union Territory by the competent authority, sources added.
The withdrawal of the LoP ended the ongoing agitation by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, a conglomerate of various social organisations that had been protesting against the admission of non-Hindu students in the medical college being run by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
CM Omar Abdullah's Remarks
Hours before the NMC withdrew the Letter of Permission, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had asked the Centre and the Union Health Ministry to adjust the students in other medical colleges and shut down the newly opened medical college to end the controversy.
Omar accused the BJP of indulging in communal politics over education, sports, and food habits.
"Keeping in view the prevailing scenario, after some groups polarised the situation, I don't feel that students themselves would like to study in this institute," Omar said, urging the Centre to accommodate the students elsewhere.
"Had I been a parent of these students, I wouldn't have sent them. We wouldn't want them to study where there's so much politics," he added.
'It's Our Victory,' Say Agitating Groups
Leaders of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti on Wednesday described the cancellation of MBBS admissions at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College as a victory and expressed gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for what they termed his positive role in the decision.
Convenor of the Sangharsh Samiti ( Col (Retd) B S Mankotia told The International Business Times that cancellation of admission was a result of the 45-day-long agitation of the people of the Jammu region. He further said that remarks made against the Lieutenant Governor during the course of the protests should not be taken otherwise, asserting that they were part of the intensity of the agitation.
The leaders claimed that, according to information received from what they described as reliable sources, the Lieutenant Governor, along with the Union Home Minister and Union Health Minister, played a constructive role in the cancellation of admissions to all MBBS seats at the medical college.
