NEET Eligibility Criteria: HC issues notice to DU, GGSIPU on plea seeking Delhi Residence Criteria for Claiming State Quota Seats

New Delhi: While considering a plea that challenged the eligibility criteria for the NEET-UG state quota seats in medical colleges affiliated with the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) and Delhi University (DU), the Delhi High Court has issued notice and sought the responses from the concerned Universities and the State Government.

Further, the HC bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav has also issued notice to the Directorate General Health Services and asked all of them to file their replies within two weeks.

The plea filed by a National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant sought inclusion of the criteria of residence as one of the mandatory eligibility criteria for students to claim the State quota MBBS and BDS seats. The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 7, 2023.

Issuing notice, the Court ordered on July 4, "The respondents are directed to seek instructions and to file their reply, if any, within a period of two weeks from today. List this matter on 07.08.2023."

GGSIPU issued a notification on June 28 calling for submission of documents from eligible candidates for Delhi state quota seats which constitute 85 per cent of the total seats.

Also Read: Can only MD/MS can be appointed as an ICU specialist in a Hospital? HC notice to Delhi government on cancellation of hospital licencse

The plea filed by a NEET aspirant said the petitioner is aggrieved at the lack of residential criteria being one of the mandatory eligibility criteria for claiming Delhi state quota seats. It said the eligibility criteria was restricted to merely passing class 11 and 12 exams from a school affiliated to a recognised board within Delhi for admission to undergraduate courses – MBBS / BDS etc. in the colleges and institutions in the national capital, adds PTI.

“Such irrational and arbitrary requirement has over the years resulted in illegal practices being resorted to by the schools within Delhi for illegitimately providing the ‘dummy schooling’ platform to students from outside Delhi (majorly from the adjoining states) who migrate to Delhi after their class 10th exams with the sole purpose of somehow availing the benefit of Delhi state quota seats (which otherwise ought to be allocated amongst the bonafide residents of NCT of Delhi),” the petition said.

Filed through advocates Ayush Beotra and Amish Tandon, it alleged the illegitimate ‘dummy schooling’ concept has emerged as a via media for fulfilling the eligibility criteria for appearing in the NEET (UG) without any difficulty or controversy.

The petition sought inclusion of the criteria of residence as one of the mandatory eligibility criteria for students to claim the quota for admission to MBBS and BDS courses here.

It also sought a direction to CBSE to identify and take necessary action against city schools which are affiliated to the board and are indulging in illegal conduct of offering ‘dummy schooling’ to students of classes 11 and 12.

As per the latest media report by Live Law, the petitioner claimed, “The illegitimate ‘dummy schooling’ concept has emerged as an illegal via media for fulfilling the eligibility criteria for appearing in the NEET (UG) without any “difficulty” or “controversy” and at the same time being eligible for claiming the Delhi State Quota Seats.”