The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to use its diplomatic channels to help the 14,000 Indian MBBS students who had returned from war-hit Ukraine to continue their education in other foreign countries.

The bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia made the suggestion to solicitor-general Tushar Mehta while accepting the Centre’s contention that it’s not possible to accommodate these students in Indian medical colleges.

Justice Gupta orally told Mehta that it may not be possible for these students to scout for seats in suitable foreign universities, and the Centre should, therefore, activate

its infrastructure to help them secure admission to overseas medical colleges under an “academic mobility programme”.

The government had earlier said it was willing to appoint a few nodal officers.

The government felt that these nodal officers could help the Indian students secure admission in other countries. But the court said that one or two liaison officers could not accomplish the task, which had to be carried out at the diplomatic level.

The bench said the Centre might set up a dedicated portal to help mitigate these students’ hardships.

“You should coordinate for Indian students who will now have to go abroad under alternative scheme. Our high commissions should help them,” the court said, while adjourning the matter.

“Start a portal which can post details like available seats in colleges, fees, etc. Ensure they are not fleeced by agents, too.”

On Thursday, the government had told the court that the Indian students who had enrolled in MBBS courses in Ukraine had achieved poor ranking in the NEET. Accommodating them in Indian colleges now, it contended, could lead to litigation from other Indian students who had failed to secure MBBS seats.

Also, these students had enrolled in Ukraine because they could not afford the fees charged by Indian private medical colleges, the government had added. If accommodated in private Indian colleges now, they might fail to pay the fees, it said.