New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn the Letter of Permission granted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) to run an MBBS course for the 2025–26 academic session, citing facilities and that it said fall short of the minimum standards required for medical education.
The move, ThePrint has learnt, was the result of a surprise inspection by an expert team of the NMC. The move comes against the backdrop of the institute witnessing protests after being drawn into a controversy over its admissions process.
Demonstrations erupted in Jammu last month after 42 Muslim students from Kashmir were admitted to the institute’s 50-seat MBBS programme in its inaugural 2025-26 batch. The remaining seats were filled by seven Hindu students and one Sikh student. The merit list was prepared based on the performance of students in NEET-UG.
The protests, led mainly by Hindu residents under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti—a coalition of around 60 BJP and RSS affiliates—have been demanding withdrawal of the admission list and reservation of seats for Hindu students, arguing that many local candidates were unaware of the admission notifications. Demonstrations escalated to burning effigies of L-G Manoj Sinha, highlighting the deep community and political tensions surrounding the college’s first MBBS admissions.
Colonel (Retd) Sukhvir Mankotia, convener of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti, said they had also raised the issues of irregularities at the institute with the NMC earlier this month. “We welcome the decision taken by the NMC on the basis of inspection carried out by their expert team. It’s also saved the future of those 50 students,” he told ThePrint Wednesday.
Commenting on the admissions process, he said, “There were major lapses in the admission process there otherwise how is it even possible that 42 out of 50 students selected were from a particular community?”
Earlier, the controversy also took a political turn, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defending the merit-based admissions and reiterating the secular character of the institution.
However, the NMC, which regulates medical education in India, on Tuesday withdrew permission granted to the college to run the MBBS course for the current academic session, and said that the admitted students would be accommodated in other government-run medical colleges in the Union Territory against supernumerary seats.
BJP MLA from Jammu’s Udhampur East seat R.S. Pathania welcomed the move. “Quality Over Quantity: NMC has revoked permission for 50 MBBS seats at SMVDIME due to a failure to meet essential standards. It reaffirms commitment to Quality,” he wrote on X.
🔬 Quality Over Quantity:
NMC has revoked permission for 50 MBBS seats at SMVDIME due to a failure to meet essential standards.
It reaffirms commitment to Quality .
Every affected student will be seamlessly transferred to a Supernumerary Seat in other UT Colleges. @BJP4India
— R. S. Pathania (@pathania_rs) January 6, 2026
Rajya Sabha MP and president of the BJP’s J&K unit Sat Sharma too welcomed the move. “I extend my thanks to J.P. Nadda ji and the government for saving the careers of those 50 students…” he said while speaking to the media Tuesday.
There has been no official statement from the institute so far.
ThePrint reached the institute for comment via email but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Why was LoP withdrawn
On 8 September 2025, NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) granted SMVDIME a Letter of Permission to start a new medical college with 50 MBBS seats for 2025-26. The college, which is affiliated with the state-run Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVD University), which is located in Katra, started functioning administratively in 2024.
The permission required the college to maintain all physical, clinical, and human resources standards, submit accurate admission data, and maintain a transparent website detailing courses, faculty, and hospital services.
The MARB reserved the right to conduct surprise inspections and could withdraw or cancel the Letter of Permission, impose penalties, or reduce intake if standards were not met.
According to officials at NMC, a surprise inspection was conducted at the college after the body received several complaints about insufficient infrastructure, and faculty, over the last couple of weeks.
“The team found serious and widespread deficiencies in infrastructure, faculty, and clinical facilities, leading to the withdrawal of MBBS permission for 2025-26. Teaching staff were severely understaffed, laboratories and research facilities were missing or substandard. Under such conditions it was not possible to let students continue there,” a senior NMC official told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
Section 28 of the NMC Act, 2019, allows it to inspect, penalise, reduce intake, or revoke recognition if an institution misrepresents facts or fails to comply with regulations. The Chapter V, Regulation 29 of the NMC Regulations 2023 empowers the commission to impose sanctions, including withdrawal of permission or reduction of seats, if a medical college fails to meet required standards.
However, officials at NMC denied the cancellation of Letter of Permission has anything to do with protest against selection of Muslim students at the college. “It has been done only on the basis of rules and regulations,” said the official quoted earlier.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)