New Delhi, Aug 24 - The Delhi High Court Monday sought the response of the Medical Council of India (MCI) on a plea by 15 doctors, whose application for an eligibility certificate was rejected by it.

Hearing the plea of the doctors who had applied to the MCI August 2007 but only were informed of the rejection of their request August 2008, Justice Anil Kumar asked the panel to explain why there was so much of a delay in rejecting the plea of medical aspirants if their university was not recognised.

The MCI has been asked to reply by Oct 7.

The group of doctors, led by Pawan Gupta, submitted that they were informed about the recent decision that their university - Jinggangshan University in China - was not in the list of recognised universities from where students can pursue their studies.

They also contended that the university is recognised by World Health Organisation (WHO).