Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

W.P. (C) No. 677 OF 2016

1. The question for consideration in this writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution concerns the validity of admission granted to the petitioner by respondent No.3 (C.M. Medical College & Hospital - for short the College) to the MBBS course. In our opinion, the admission granted by the College to the petitioner was unjustified and therefore his admission is set aside.

2. On 21st December, 2010 a gazette notification was issued by the Medical Council of India amending the “Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997” to the effect, inter alia, that admissions to the MBBS course shall be based solely on marks obtained in the National Eligibility- cum-Entrance Test (for short NEET). This notification was challenged by, amongst others, Christian Medical College Vellore in a batch of petitions before this Court which came to be allowed. The decision of this Court is dated 18th July, 2013 and is reported as Christian Medical College, Vellore & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.[1] The gazette notification dated 21st December, 2010 was quashed. As a result, admission of a student to the MBBS course through NEET was no longer mandatory.

8. There are a few other orders passed by this Court which are of some significance. On 28th April, 2016 it was directed by this Court in Sankalp Charitable Trust & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.[4] that NEET Phase I would be held in terms of the notification dated 21st December, 2010 issued by the Medical Council of India. The All India Pre-Medical Test would be held on 1st May, 2016. Thereafter, Phase II of NEET for the left out candidates would be held on 24th July, 2016. It was made clear that since the judgment and order dated 18th July, 2013 had been recalled, the notification dated 21st December, 2010 was in operation.

9. By an order dated 6th May, 2016 in Sankalp Charitable Trust it was made clear that no examination shall be permitted to be held for admission for MBBS studies by any private college or association or any private/deemed University.

10. Subsequently on 9th May, 2016 this Court declined to modify the order dated 28th April, 2016. An order was also passed making it clear that all such candidates who could not appear in NEET-I and those who had appeared but had an apprehension that they had not prepared well, would be permitted to appear in NEET-II subject to an option from these candidates to give up their candidature for NEET-1. It was further clarified that only NEET would enable students to get admission to MBBS studies.

11. In view of all these orders passed by this Court from time to time, it is more than abundantly clear that the notification dated 21st December, 2010 stood resurrected and that admissions to the MBBS course could only through NEET-I and NEET-II. No other process of admission was permissible. Given this background, the Director of Medical Education in Chhattisgarh wrote to the College on or about 13th July, 2016 to take steps to cancel all the admissions made by the College in terms of the examination CGMAT – 2016 held for students for the management quota and NRI quota. Eventually by a letter dated 28th July, 2016 the Director of Medical Education in Chhattisgarh recommended to the College to cancel admissions made to the MBBS course. This prompted the petitioner to file a writ petition in this Court.