Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University. File
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University has moved the Madras High Court challenging the validity of the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations that permit the grant of deemed-to-be-university status to private medical colleges without the express consent of the State university. It has also challenged the grant of such status to the Pudukottai-based Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Trust on May 20, 2026.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) ordered notices to the Union Ministry of Education, the UGC, the State government, and the private trust, seeking their response to the two writ petitions filed by the State medical university.

The petitioner university contended that the UGC regulations, which require a State university to respond within 60 days to an application by a medical college for being accorded the deemed university status, failing which it would be considered that there was no objection for the conferment of such a status, should be interpreted only as a directory and not a mandatory provision.

Published – July 29, 2026 04:25 pm IST