A detailed look at the National Dental Commission’s order withdrawing recognition of PDM Dental College & Research Institute, and what it means for the students caught in the middle.
In a decisive move that brings the curtain down on one of Haryana’s private dental institutions, the National Dental Commission (NDC) has ordered the withdrawal of recognition and closure of PDM Dental College & Research Institute, Bahadurgarh, and directed that its BDS and MDS students be shifted to other recognized dental colleges in the state.
The order — issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India (Order No. M-1393, F. No. NDC/DARB/UG/3(240)/2026-27) and dated 23 July 2026 — takes effect immediately. It was signed by Arindam Modak, Secretary of the National Dental Commission.
The decision follows years of regulatory concerns, missed compliance deadlines, financial trouble, and an inspection that flagged sweeping deficiencies across the college’s infrastructure and academic facilities. Here is the full story behind the order.
A College with a Complicated History
PDM Dental College & Research Institute was established during the academic year 2006-07, and the Central Government granted it recognition in 2011, with affiliation to Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
Over the years, its academic affiliation shifted more than once:
- On 5 February 2013, the affiliating university was changed to Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, and the Central Government notified recognition of the BDS degree awarded by that university.
- On 16 May 2018, the Central Government approved a further change of affiliation — this time to PDM University, Bahadurgarh. The first batch of BDS and MDS students under PDM University was admitted in 2018-19.
For a while, the college continued to operate under the new affiliation. But signs of trouble were already beginning to surface.
The First Red Flag: A Rs. 25 Crore Loan Default
On 23 January 2020, the Dental Council of India (the erstwhile regulator, now succeeded by the NDC) received a complaint from IFCI Bank Ltd. The complaint concerned a default on a loan of Rs. 25 crore by the PDM Religious & Educational Association — the body running the institution.
This financial complaint would prove to be an early indicator of the deeper instability that eventually engulfed the college.
Recognition Granted Only as “One-Time Measures”
Despite the concerns, the students of the 2018-19 batch were not left stranded. On the recommendations of the erstwhile Dental Council of India (DCI), the Central Government stepped in with a series of one-time relief measures:
- On 1 August 2023, it issued a notification recognizing the MDS courses in 8 specialities of the 2018-19 batch under PDM University, explicitly as a one-time measure.
- On 28 May 2024, it recognized the BDS course of the 2018-19 batch under PDM University, again as a one-time measure.
The repeated use of the phrase “one-time measure” is significant. It signalled that these approvals were rescue actions to protect enrolled students — not an endorsement of the college’s ongoing fitness to run its programmes.
Crucially, the college did not apply for the mandatory recognition inspections for its upcoming batches — including 2019-20, 2020-21 and the years that followed. Under the regulatory framework, colleges must undergo periodic inspection to keep their recognition valid. By skipping this process, PDM left its later batches in a precarious legal position.
Students Start Complaining
The consequences soon caught up with the students. On 12 March 2025, the Executive Committee of the erstwhile DCI considered complaints received from students of the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 batches agaisnt Dr Mandeep Singh Virdi and Dr Richa Wadhawan.
After a personal hearing with the college, the Committee recommended:
- One-time recognition of BDS and MDS degrees for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 batches, again to protect students already enrolled, and
- Stoppage of all UG and PG admissions from the Academic Session 2025-26.
The message was becoming unmistakable: the regulator was prepared to protect existing students, but it was closing the door on any new intake.
The Ministry Steps In
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare then acted on these recommendations in a sequence of directives:
- On 25 June 2025, the Ministry directed stoppage of admissions to the BDS and MDS courses from the Academic Session 2025-26 onwards.
- On 8 October 2025, the Ministry directed the college to prepare and submit a detailed action plan for restoration of its BDS/MDS seats — effectively giving PDM a pathway to potentially recover, provided it could demonstrate it had fixed its shortcomings.
This action plan would become the central test of the college’s willingness and ability to reform. It failed that test.
The Inspection That Sealed Its Fate
On 14 October 2025, the Executive Committee of the erstwhile DCI considered a joint inspection report compiled from inspections conducted on 24 and 25 September 2025 by DCI Inspectors alongside a State Government representative.
The findings were damning. Inspectors observed major deficiencies relating to infrastructure, faculty, hospital facilities, clinical material, laboratories, library, hostel and other essential requirements — essentially the full spectrum of resources a functioning dental college is required to maintain.
On the strength of these findings, the Committee decided to recommend to the Central Government the withdrawal of recognition of the college and the shifting of BDS/MDS students to another dental college within Haryana.
Missed Deadlines and an Action Plan That Never Came
Even at this stage, the college was given repeated opportunities to respond. The erstwhile DCI, through the Dental Assessment and Rating Board (DARB), pursued the college persistently:
- A letter was issued on 9 February 2026, followed by reminders on 29 April 2026 and 7 May 2026, all seeking the detailed action plan.
- On 19 May 2026, the college requested an additional month to submit the plan — a request DARB granted.
Despite these extensions and “numerous opportunities,” no action plan was ever received from the college.
The State Government Backs Withdrawal
The State of Haryana was firmly aligned with the regulator’s stance. On 8 June 2026, the Ministry forwarded a copy of the State Government of Haryana’s letter dated 1 June 2026, in which the State conveyed its comments on the DCI’s recommendations.
The State Government stated that it was in consonance with the decisions of the DCI — supporting the withdrawal of the NOC (No Objection Certificate) issued to the college for BDS and MDS, and the shifting of students to other private dental colleges in Haryana.
With both the central regulator and the state authority in agreement, the college had run out of avenues.
A Penalty of Over Rs. 5 Crore — Still Unpaid
The financial dimension of the case did not end with the old IFCI complaint. For its failure to maintain the minimum essential standards required to conduct BDS and MDS courses, the Dental Assessment and Rating Board imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 5,10,90,000 (Rupees Five Crore Ten Lakh Ninety Thousand only) via its order dated 23 June 2026.
As of the date of the closure order, this penalty had not been deposited by the college.
The Final Order: Recognition Withdrawn, College Closed
Weighing all of the above, the National Dental Commission decided to accept the recommendations of the Dental Assessment and Rating Board (DARB) and issued its order. Under the provisions of the NDC Act, 2023, the Commission ordered:
- Withdrawal of recognition of PDM Dental College & Research Institute, Bahadurgarh.
- Closure of the college.
- Shifting of the BDS and MDS students studying at the institution to other recognized dental colleges in Haryana — with immediate effect.
The order was issued with the approval of the competent authority and addressed to the Principal of PDM Dental College & Research Institute, Sector-3A, Sarai Aurangabad, Bahadurgarh, Haryana – 124507.
Copies were forwarded to a range of authorities for information and necessary action, including the Additional Secretary (ME) at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the Director of Medical Education and Research (Haryana), the Principal Secretary of Health & FW (Haryana), the Directorate General of Health Services, and the Registrar of PDM University — with the IT Division directed to upload the order on the NDC website.
What This Means for the Students
The most important takeaway from this order is what it means for the students currently enrolled at PDM. Rather than being abandoned, the enrolled BDS and MDS students are to be relocated to other recognized dental colleges within Haryana, allowing them to continue and complete their education without their degrees being jeopardized by the closure.
This mirrors the approach taken throughout the case — the regulator repeatedly used “one-time” recognitions and now a student-shifting mechanism to shield students from the fallout of the management’s failures, while still holding the institution accountable.
For the college itself, however, the order is final: recognition withdrawn, admissions long since stopped, a multi-crore penalty outstanding, and the institution ordered shut.
The Bigger Picture
The PDM case is a textbook example of how India’s dental education regulatory machinery is expected to work under the NDC Act, 2023 — with the National Dental Commission and its Dental Assessment and Rating Board acting as the successors to the old Dental Council of India.
It underscores several enduring themes in dental (and medical) education regulation:
- Recognition is conditional and recurring, not permanent. Colleges must submit to periodic inspection, and skipping that process has consequences.
- Financial stability of the managing body matters. A loan default complaint became an early warning sign years before closure.
- Minimum essential standards are non-negotiable — spanning faculty, infrastructure, clinical material, hospital facilities, laboratories, library and hostels.
- Students are meant to be protected even when institutions fail, through mechanisms like one-time recognition and inter-college transfers.
For prospective students and their families, the case is also a reminder to verify a dental college’s current recognition status and inspection record before committing — because, as PDM’s story shows, an institution’s standing can change dramatically over time.
Allegedly, Dr Mandeep Singh Virdi and Dr Richa Wadhawan were only the faculties who were visiting the college . All the other faculties have resigned and all classes and exams were cancelled. They both were also accussed of running illegal patent and publication related scams. These deficiencies identified fall within the remit of the institution’s leadership and academic staff, whose responsibility is to maintain the prescribed standards.
Link to the Pdf of the National Dental Commission Order
This article is based on the National Dental Commission’s Order No. M-1393 dated 23 July 2026. Readers seeking the authoritative text should refer to the order as published on the official NDC website.
