Relief Granted! Bombay HC Grants Admission to MBBS Aspirant Denied Seat due to technical issues

Mumbai: Coming to the aid of an MBBS Aspirant, who was denied admission based on technical issues with her caste certificates, the Bombay High Court bench recently directed SSPM Medical College to admit her in the first-year MBBS course by creating a supernumerary seat for her under the institutional stray vacancy round.

"...it is held that the petitioner is entitled to be admitted at the First Year MBBS Course at the respondent no.7 – College under the Institutional Stray Vacancy by directing creation of a supernumerary seat. The petitioner would be liable to pay tuition fees and other fees as payable by a student who has secured admission in the Institutional Stray Vacancy Round," the HC bench comprising Justices Rajesh S. Patil and A.S. Chandurkar ordered.

The petitioner student claims to belong to Mali- Other Backward Class. However, she was denied MBBS admission by SSPM Medical College and Lifetime Hospital at the Institutional Level Stray Vacancy Round 2024-2025 that was conducted pursuant to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination.

As per the petitioner, as required, she had submitted Caste Certificate (dated 08/08/2024) along with a Caste Validity Certificate (dated 19/10/2022 issued by the District Caste Scrutiny Committee, Amravati). However, she was denied admission because the date of the Caste Certificate referred to in the Caste Validity Certificate differed from the one submitted by her.

Consequently, she approached the Bombay High Court seeking relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Her counsel argued that there was no doubt regarding the fact that the petitioner belonged to Other Backward Class. The counsel submitted that though a reference in the said Caste Validity Certificate was to Caste Certificate dated 21.09.2021, the said Certificate could not be furnished as the same had been misplaced.

On account of non-availability of old data, she could not get a duplicate Caste Certificate. Hence the petitioner had submitted a fresh Caste Certificate dated 08/08/2024. It was also argued that once the Scrutiny Committee issued the Validity Certificate, the petitioner's status of belonging to the caste mentioned there was established and the insistence on production of the Caste Certificate was a mere formality. Relying on the judgment in the case of S. Krishna Sradha vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh & Others, counsel argued that the petitioner could not be denied admission on the date of issuing the Caste Validity Certificate, further highlighting that the petitioner approached the College before the cut-off date and therefore should could not have been denied admission on this pretext as well.

On the other hand, the counsel for Maharashtra State CET Cell submitted that since the cut-off date for granting admission had been crossed and there was no vacant seat available, the petitioner could not be granted admission.

Meanwhile, the counsel for the medical college argued that the petitioner was denied admission as the original Caste Certificate was not submitted. Further, the college's counsel submitted that the Caste Certificate referred to in the Validity Certificate was not submitted by her and a different Caste Certificate had been submitted. It was further submitted that since all seats had now been filled-in, no relief could be granted to the petitioner.

After perusing the material on record, the Court noted that the petitioner possessed a Caste Validity Certificate issued by the Competent Authority in terms of the provisions of Section 6(4) of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000.

The Court noted that the caste claim gets verified based on the Caste Certificate and the issuance of the Validity Certificate indicated that the claimant had proved the claim of belonging to the caste mentioned there.

Further, perusing the Validity Certificate, Caste Certificate dated 21.09.2021 and other documents submitted by the petitioner, the HC bench observed, "Since the petitioner was not in possession of the Caste Certificate dated 21/09/2021, she obtained another Caste Certificate from the Sub-Divisional Officer, Morshi dated 08/08/2024. The subsequent Caste Certificate too indicates that the petitioner belongs to Mali caste. The Validity Certificate dated 19/10/2022 certifies that the petitioner’s claim of belonging to Mali caste was found to be valid. It is therefore clear that the social status of the petitioner is not in doubt. The only technicality that comes in the way of the petitioner is the submission of subsequent Caste Certificate dated 08/08/2024 alongwith Validity Certificate dated 19/10/2022. It is for this reason that the College had denied the petitioner her admission."

"In the aforesaid factual background, we do not find it necessary to go into the issue as to whether the petitioner was deliberately denied admission or that higher fees were demanded from her. The only reason furnished by the College for not admitting her is the nonproduction of Caste Certificate dated 21/09/2021 that finds reference in the Validity Certificate issued by the Scrutiny Committee. For this reason, the petitioner has missed the bus," it further noted.

The Court also took note of the fact that the cut-off date for securing admission was 05/11/2024 and there were no vacant seats available where the petitioner could be accommodated after the Institutional Stray Vacancy Round. "The interests of justice however require grant of appropriate relief to the petitioner as she has been denied of her admission on a ground which can be easily explained," the Court noted at this outset.

In this regard, the Court referred to the Supreme Court order in the case of Vansh s/o Prakash Dolas vs. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Others, 2024. It also referred to the decision in Vansh s/o Prakash Dolas (supra) in which the Supreme Court examined the issue of wrongful denial of admission in a medical course, and propounded the theory of 'restitutive justice'.

"Following the ratio of that decision, this Court in Writ Petition No.17047 of 2024 (Mashalkar Prasad vs. Terna Medical College & Hospital) decided on 28/11/2024 has granted restitutive relief to the said petitioner on being satisfied that the said petitioner had been denied admission. We are inclined to follow a similar course since it is now informed that there are no vacant seats available at the College and that the cut off date for seeking admission has crossed," observed the top court bench.

Accordingly, the Court held that the petitioner is entitled to be admitted at the first-year MBBS course at the College under the Institutional Stray Vacancy by directing the creation of a supernumerary seat. The bench further clarified that the petitioner would be liable to pay tuition fees and other fees as payable by a student who has secured admission in the Institutional Stray Vacancy Round.

"To enable steps for regularizing the petitioner’s admission, the College shall forward the necessary proposal in that regard to the respondent nos. 4 to 6 as well as National Medical Commission, New Delhi. If such proposal is forwarded, the concerned parties shall consider the same in the peculiar facts of the present case referred to above," the Court mentioned in its order.

To view the Court order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/bombay-hc-order-266410.pdf

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