Patna, Aug. 22: The medical aspirants and the state government are equally worried over the stay on admission to the MBBS course at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

The students are bothered because their career is at stake. The state government’s concern is the embarrassment it would face if it fails to start the MBBS course at the institution this year.

Sniffing the possibility of losing the opportunity to start the MBBS course at IGIMS, the state health department is likely to file an affidavit in the high court tomorrow pressing for an early hearing.

The high court last Friday stayed the admission to the college till further order. The court directed the state government, IGIMS and Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination (BCECE) to file their replies within a week.

Sources said the state health department would request the court to lift the stay on the admission to the IGIMS in its petition. It would also plead the court to allow the BCECE to complete the admission process before August 31.

“If the institute loses the opportunity of starting the MBBS course this time, it will be a major embarrassment for the government,” a senior health department officer said.

According to an apex court judgment in Mridul Dhar case of 2005, the state government has to complete the admissions process for the MBBS course at IGIMS latest by August 31. If it fails to do so, it would lose the chance of introducing the course at IGIMS this year, sources said.

The high court issued the stay order on the admission process of IGIMS hearing a petition filed by Kumar Kshitiz Abhinav. He sought a stay on the admission to the MBBS course in IGIMS on the basis of the state combined entrance examination. Abhinav, who could not clear the BCECE exam, had applied for appearing in the all-India written examination for which the institution had initially invited applications.

Sources said the board of governors of IGIMS decided in a meeting on August 3 that admissions to the newly introduced MBBS course at the institute would be made through second round of counselling of students figuring in the BCECE merit list. The institution had cited time crunch for scrapping the all-India entrance test.

Several medical aspirants said the controversy surrounding the IGIMS admissions had put a question mark on its credibility. “Over 10,000 students from across the country had applied for the proposed all-India entrance test. But the institution changed its stand all of a sudden. It has obliviously put a question mark on the reliability of an institution,” said Pratim Jha, a student.

The state government, however, is keen to start the MBBS course at IGIMS this year itself. The counselling for admission to the college would be conducted according to the schedule despite the court stay on the admission process.

“The counselling for the admission to the MBBS course at IGIMS will be conducted according to the schedule from August 23 to 28 because no stay has been imposed on it. If all goes well, the admission process will be over within the deadline,” a senior officer of the health department said.