LAW FOR ALL

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.