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National Eligibility Entrance Test
Fate of the students already admitted in Medical college after quashing of NEET notification = Apex court held that before quashing NEET Notifications, it saved the admission already made and as such they should not be asked to leave the course= whether the petitioners have any right to continue or the respondents who have been admitted under the Rules have the right of admission.= After the judgment was pronounced, some kind of infantile wisdom which may, in different terminology, be called depraved sense of egocentric knowledge, the Additional Secretary (Health) had conveyed the Government’s decision dated 25.7.2013 which is as under: – “The Dean Goa Medical College, Bambolim-Goa Sub: Decision of the Government regarding Admission to Post Graduate Degree/Diploma Cources at GMC. I am directed to refer to your letter No. Acad/175/G.M.C./2013/441 dt. 23.7.2013 on the subject cited above and to convey the decision of the Government to admit the students for Post Graduate Degree/Diploma based on aggregate MBBS marks, as per existing rules as notified in the Official Gazette Series I No. 50 and Series I No. 51, Notification No. I/B/2033-II/PHD. Provisional admissions given on the basis of the NEET merit earlier thus stands cancelled.”- The candidates, who had qualified in the NEET examination and had been admitted, were compelled to leave the college and the students who had qualified under the Rules were admitted. – This Court in the final judgment had not invalidated the actions taken under the amended regulations and it included the admissions already given on the basis of the NEET conducted by the Medical Council of India. Therefore, there could not have been any scintilla of doubt in any one’s mind that the admissions given on the basis of NEET examination had been protected by this Court and hence, their admissions could not have been cancelled by the State Government.- But, unfortunately, here the authorities of the State Government have felt courageous enough to play possum and proceeded to crucify the fate of the candidates who had been protected by the verdict of this Court. Such an action is absolutely impermissible. Thus analysed the letter dated 25.7.2013 deserves to be lancinated and we so do. The writ petitioners, who have been admitted on the basis of the NEET examination, shall be allowed to prosecute their studies.=We are absolutely conscious of the said position. However, regard being had to the special features of the case and the litigations that have cropped up and the mistake that the State Government has committed, we are inclined to direct that 21 seats transferred to the State quota shall be filled up from among the students who had taken admissions under the 2004 Rules. It needs no special emphasis to state that the admissions and the allocations of the stream shall be on their inter se merit as per the Rules. We may hasten to clarify that none of these candidates shall be allowed to encroach upon the streams that have already been allotted to the petitioners who were admitted having been qualified in the NEET examination. We have been further apprised at the Bar that there are some unfilled seats as some students have left the College. If the vacancies have occurred, the same can also be filled up regard being had to the merit as stipulated under the Rules.- the effect that there should be increase of the seats for the academic year 2013-14 and the students should be adjusted. = Be it noted, an application was filed by the College for enhancement of seats for 2014-15 and during the pendency of this petition there has been a request to the Medical Council of India to prepone it for the year 2013-14. Enhancement of seats requires inspection and is controlled by a set of Regulations and, in any case, the application for 2014-15 cannot be directed to be processed in the current year.; whether the students who cannot be adjusted in the seats of All India quota that have been transferred to the State quota of this year can be adjusted next year. = We are bound by the said precedents. In certain individual cases where there is defective counselling and merit has become a casualty, this Court has directed for adjustment in the next academic session but in the case at hand, it is not exactly so. Though we are at pains, yet we must express that it will not be appropriate to issue directions to adjust them in respect of the subsequent academic year, for taking recourse to the same would affect the other meritorious candidates who would be aspirant to get admissions next year. For doing equity to some in presenti we cannot afford to do injustice to others in future. Therefore, the submission stands repelled.
published in http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgst.aspx?filename=40709 Reportable IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 598 OF 2013 Aneesh D. Lawande & others … Petitioners Versus The State of Goa and others … Respondents J U D G M E N T Dipak … Continue reading
the NEET’= the Medical Council of India (hereinafter referred to as ‘the MCI’) should not be entrusted with a right to conduct National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (hereinafter referred to as ‘the NEET’) and whether introduction of the NEET would violate fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under the provisions of Articles 19(1)(g), 25, 26, 29(1) and 30 of the Constitution of India.= whether the legal provisions which permit the aforestated apex bodies to conduct the NEET, so as to regulate admission of the students to medical institutes, are in accordance with legal and Constitutional provisions. The aforestated question has been rightly answered by this court in the case of Dr. Preeti Srivastava and Another vs. State of M.P. and Others (1999) 7 SCC 120 to the effect that norms of admission will have a direct impact on the standards of education. This court has observed that the standards of education in any institution or college would depend upon several factors and the caliber of the students to be admitted to the institutions would also be one of the relevant factors. Moreover, in view of entry 25 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, Union as well as the States have power to legislate on the subject of medical education, subject to the provisions of entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule, which deals with determination of standards in institutions for higher education. In the circumstances, a State has the right to control education, including medical education, so long as the field is unoccupied by any Union legislation. By virtue of entry 66 in List I to the Seventh Schedule, the Union can make laws with respect to determination of standards in institutions for higher education. Similarly, subject to enactments, laws made with respect to the determination of standards in institutions for higher education under power given to the Union in entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule, the State can also make laws relating to education, including technical education and medical education. In view of the above position clarified in the case of Dr. Preeti Srivastava (supra), the NEET can be conducted under the supervision of the MCI as per the regulations framed under the Act. As stated hereinabove, Section 33 of the Act enables the MCI to make regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act and therefore, conducting the NEET is perfectly legal. So far as the rights guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution with regard to practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, a trade or business, are concerned, it is needless to say that the aforestated rights are not unfettered. – So far as the rights guaranteed to the petitioners under the provisions of Articles 25, 26, 29 and 30 are concerned, in my opinion, none of the rights guaranteed under the aforestated Articles would be violated by permitting the NEET. It is always open to the petitioners to select a student subject to his being qualified by passing the examination conducted by the highest professional body. This is to assure that the students who are to undergo the professional training are suitable for the same. Regulations relating to admission of the students i.e. admitting eligible, deserving and bright students would ultimately bring reputation to the educational institutes. I fail to understand as to why the petitioners are keen to admit undeserving or ineligible students when eligible and suitable students are available. I am sure that even a scrupulous religious person or an educational institution would not like to have physicians or dentists passing through its institution to be substandard so as to bring down reputation of the profession or the college in which such a substandard professional was educated. Minorities – be it religious or linguistic, can impart training to a student who is found worthy to be given education in the field of medicine or dentistry by the professional apex body. In my opinion, the Regulations and the NEET would not curtail or adversely affect any of the rights of such minorities as apprehended by the petitioners. On the contrary, standard quality of input would reasonably assure them of sterling quality of the final output of the physicians or dentists, who pass out through their educational institutions. The Government authorities or the professional bodies named hereinabove would not be creating any hindrance in the administrative affairs of the institutions. Implementation of the NEET would only give better students to such institutions and from and among such highly qualified and suitable students, the minority institutions will have a right to select the students of their choice. At this stage, the institutions would be in a position to use their discretion in the matter of selection of students. It would be open to them to give weightage to the religion, caste, etc of the student. The institutions would get rid of the work of conducting their separate examinations and that would be a great relief to them. Except some institutions having some oblique motive behind selecting students who could not prove their mettle at the common examination, all educational institutes should feel happy to get a suitable and eligible lot of students, without making any effort for selecting them. 23. For the reasons recorded hereinabove, in my opinion, it cannot be said that introduction of the NEET would either violate any of the fundamental or legal rights of the petitioners or even adversely affect the medical profession. In my opinion, introduction of the NEET would ensure more transparency and less hardship to the students eager to join the medical profession. Let us see the consequence, if the apex bodies of medical profession are not permitted to conduct the NEET. A student, who is good at studies and is keen to join the medical profession, will have to visit several different States to appear at different examinations held by different medical colleges or institutes so as to ensure that he gets admission somewhere. If he appears only in one examination conducted by a particular University in a particular State and if he fails there, he would not stand a chance to get medical education at any other place. The NEET will facilitate all students desirous of joining the medical profession because the students will have to appear only at one examination and on the basis of the result of the NEET, if he is found suitable, he would be in a position to get admission somewhere in the country and he can have the medical education if he is inclined to go to a different place. Incidentally, I may state here that learned senior counsel Mr. Gupta had informed the Court that some medical colleges, who are more in a profiteering business rather than in the noble work of imparting medical education, take huge amount by way of donation or capitation fees and give admission to undeserving or weak students under one pretext or the other. He had also given an instance to support the serious allegation made by him on the subject. If only one examination in the country is conducted and admissions are given on the basis of the result of the said examination, in my opinion, unscrupulous and money minded businessmen operating in the field of education would be constrained to stop their corrupt practices and it would help a lot, not only to the deserving students but also to the nation in bringing down the level of corruption. 24. For the aforestated reasons, I am of the view that the petitioners are not entitled to any of the reliefs prayed for in the petitions. The impugned notifications are not only legal in the eyes of law but are also a boon to the students aspiring to join medical profession. All the petitions are, therefore, dismissed with no order as to costs.
Reported in http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgst.aspx?filename=40580 REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION T.C.(C) NO.98 OF 2012 CHRISTIAN MEDICAL COLLEGE VELLORE & ORS …Petitioners VERSUS UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. …Respondents WITH T.C.(C) NO.99/2012 T.C.(C) NO.101/2012 T.C.(C) NO.100/2012 T.C.(C) NO.102/2012 T.C.(C) NO.103/2012 W.P.(C) NO.480/2012 T.C.(C) NO.104/2012 T.C.(C) NO.105/2012 W.P.(C) NO.468/2012 W.P.(C) NO.467/2012 W.P.(C) NO.478/2012 T.C.(C) … Continue reading
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