The Calcutta High Court’s interim order from 2019 was overturned by the Supreme Court, which also refused to admit eight MBBS doctors to postgraduate medical programs. The Supreme Court did this after noting that the High Court disregarded the principles of merit and the May 31 deadline set by the Apex Court for the completion of the admissions process.
On October 17, a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar issued the ruling after hearing a plea from the National Medical Council (NMC) against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to admit eight MBBS doctors.
According to the petitioner, the students sought admission to PG programs against seats that remained unfilled even after a mop-up round of counseling because they had been denied admission on the basis of merit.
The petition said that despite appearing in NEET-PG 2019 and taking part in the final round of counseling, the students who petitioned the High Court did not succeed in getting accepted into PG programs.
The High Court gave the students provisional entry at first on the basis of an interim decision and afterward regularised them, the plea stated, despite the fact that the students moved the High Court very late (beyond the last date for admission, May 31, 2019).
The attorney for these eight students asked the Apex Court to allow those who were almost finished with their PG courses to finish their work and take their exams.
The Apex Court decided that all authorities must rigorously abide by the schedule for admission to PG medical programs, which has a cut-off date of May 31. No authority is given the discretion to grant admissions after this date.
The country’s highest court ruled that the interim orders issued by the High Court were not enforceable under the law because they disregarded the idea of merit, which this court cannot support.
According to the report, these students took part in the second round of counseling but were unsuccessful in obtaining a place in the PG medical program due to their lower rank in the order of merit. So, it is impossible to feel sorry for them.
The Supreme Court decided that if these admissions were regularised and students were permitted to continue in PG courses, the same would be wholly unconstitutional, noting that the admissions were wholly in violation of the 2000 Regulations.
News Mania Desk
