MBBS Seat Row: Delhi High Court Quashes Executing Court's Order Compelling Jamia Hamdard University To Grant Consent Of Affiliation

The Delhi High Court on 17th December set aside an order dated 8th December 2025, of the Executing Court which directed Jamia Hamdard Deemed to be University to issue a Consent of Affiliation (CoA) for 150 MBBS seats at the Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (HIMSR). The Court ruled that the executing court had acted beyond its jurisdiction by deciding matters outside the scope of the arbitral order and the statutory framework.

A Division Bench comprising of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, allowing the appeal, held that “It is a well- settled principle that an Executing Court must confine itself to enforcing the decree or order that it is called upon to execute and that it cannot travel beyond the scope of that decree/order”.

The dispute stemmed from a 2019 Family Settlement Deed (FSD) that split several institutions between the groups of Hamdard Family, leading to arbitration proceedings. An arbitrator had ordered Jamia Hamdard to "extend all support" to Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (HIMSR) for its MBBS admissions on August 12, 2025, but made it clear that this support had to be "within the confines of law". The Consent of Affiliation was then revoked by Jamia Hamdard, which was not a signatory to the arbitration agreement, citing concerns expressed by statutory bodies such as the UGC and NMC.

In an order dated 8th December, 2025, the executing court comprising of Justice Jasmeet Singh had ruled that Jamia Hamdard's withdrawal of the Consent of Affiliation frustrated the arbitral process and violated enforceable arbitral orders. The court had thereby mandated Jamia Hamdard to provide the CoA to HIMSR within seven days, noting that there was no valid legal basis for this withdrawal. Aggrieved, this order was challenged.

The central issue to be decided on was whether, under section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an executing court can give directions to a non-party to the arbitration and decide the legality of statutory actions – the withdrawal of affiliation, in this case.

Jamia Hamdard contended that by finding its withdrawal of CoA unlawful and requiring the declaration of affiliation, the executing court went beyond the arbitral mandate by using “positive compulsion” to issue a new CoA and that it was a non-signatory to the arbitration agreement. It further argued that regulatory matters under the NMC framework and the UGC Act are ongoing before statutory and writ forums and cannot be subject of arbitration proceedings.

The Division Bench, comprising of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar ruled that Jamia Hamdard's appeal was maintainable under the Civil Procedure Code, despite it being a third party, because the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 did not specify a different mechanism for enforcement.

The order issued by a single judge directing Jamia Hamdard Deemed to be University (JHDU) to grant Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (HIMSR) a Consent of Affiliation (CoA) for 150 MBBS seats, was hereby quashed, ruling that an executing court cannot enforce an arbitral tribunal's interim order while compelling a non-signatory third party to grant affiliation or determine statutory regulatory compliance.

The Court determining that the arbitral order only mandated support "within the confines of law," not the issuance of affiliation. It further decided that as the arbitral order was not an injunction nor a decree for specific performance, Order XXI Rule 32 CPC was inapplicable. Noting that the validity of CoA withdrawal is determined by statutory regimes under the UGC and NMC and cannot be decided by the Executing court, the Court stated that “what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly”, especially where statutory appellate mechanisms exist.

Consequently, the High Court, allowed the appeal and quashed the Single Judge's order dated 8th December, 2025 that directed to issue the CoA. ________________________________________

Case Details:

Case Title: Jamia Hamdard Deemed to be University vs. Asad Mueed & Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1744

Case No: EFA(OS) 22/2025

Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Date of Decision: 17.12.2025

Appearances:

For Appellant: Dr. Amit George, Dr. Swaroop George, Mr. Mobashshir Sarwar, Mr. Abhinandan Jain, Mr. Shivam Prajapati, Ms. Ibansara Syiemlieh, Mr. Abhigyan Dwivedi, Mr. Vaibhav Gandhi, Mr. Kartikey Puneesh and Mr. Takrim Ahsan Khan, Advocates with Mr. M.A. Sikandar, Mr. Syed Saud Akhtar.

For Respondents : Mr. Rajiv Nayar, Mr. Saket Sikri, Ms. Simran Mehta, Mr. Vikalp Mudgal, Mr. Ajay Pal Singh Kullar, Mr. Prakhar Khanna, Mr. Priyansh Choudhary and Mr. M H Zahidi, Mr. Sudhir Nandrajog, Mr. Shreyans Singhvi, Ms. Tanuja Singh, Ms. Ankita Singh , Ms. Madhu Yadav, Mr. Rajiv K. Virmani, Mr. Shubham Pandey, Mr. Naimesh Gupta, Mr. Parmanand Gaur, Mr. Vibhav Mishra, Ms. Megha Gaur, Ms. Renu Bhandari, Mr. T. Singhdev, Mr. Tanishq Srivastava, Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Ms. Yamini Singh, Mr. Bhanu Gulati and Mr. Sourabh Kumar

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