NO Relief: Supreme Court cancels delayed PG medical admissions of 8 MBBS doctors, says schedule must be followed strictly

New Delhi: Reiterating the need for strictly adhering to the admission time schedule, the Supreme Court has cancelled the Postgraduate medical admission of eight MBBS doctors, who had been earlier given relief by the Calcutta High Court.

However, the top court bench comprising of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar set aside the order of the HC as it noted that the High Court had ignored the principles of merit while granting provisional admissions to those doctors and later while regularising them.

Therefore, cancelling their admissions, the Supreme Court bench observed, "In our considered view, no sympathy can be shown to such students who have not only entered/admitted after 31st May of the year but their admissions were completely in contravention to the Regulations, 2000 and provisional admissions were granted by the High Court ignoring the principle of merit which is the sole touchstone for admission to the post­graduate courses based on the NEET examination, 2019 where admissions are made strictly in the order of merit­ cum­ preference and despite the stay order passed by this Court, if they are allowed to continue in post­graduate medical courses, the same would be completely illegal and such contemptuous action on the part of the authorities, cannot be approved by this Court."

The case concerned eight MBBS doctors, who after clearing the NEET-PG 2019 examination, sought admission in the State quota seats in Post-graduate medical courses in medical colleges of West Bengal for the academic year 2019-2020. For the concerned year, the cut-off date for admission was May 31, 2019. However, even after the cut-off date, approximately 153 State quota PG medical seats remained vacant and the concerned students failed in their attempt after participating in the last counselling in securing admission to post­graduate medical seat in any of the specialty because of their much lower rank in the order of merit.

At this outset, the doctors approached the High Court bench and contended that although the final round of counselling was over, PG medical seats for the academic session 2019-2020 were still lying vacant. Therefore, seeking relief they urged the court to consider their admission against the vacant seats.

Following this, issuing an interim order, the HC bench directed the MCI for granting provisional admission to the students. Later their admissions were regularised by the court on the ground that they had joined PG medical courses and had undergone training/education for six months and more. Challenging the order of the HC, the MCI, now NMC approached the top court bench, which stayed the HC order.

The court noted that while one student did not continue her studies since September 2019, other students had been allowed to continue their studies by West Bengal University of Health Sciences despite the stay order granted by the Supreme Court.

It was argued by the counsel for MCI that the High Court had committed an error while granting provisional admissions to these doctors after the cut-off date and also contended that admissions could not have been made on the principle of first cum first serve basis regardless of their placement in the order of merit, which is the touchstone for admissions to the Postgraduate medical courses.

Besides, the MCI counsel also submitted that the top court in numerous cases has declined prayers seeking extension of time with the direction that time schedule must be strictly followed.

On the other hand, the students argued that the University could not conduct the second round of counselling within the time schedule and following the order of the Division bench dated May 30, 2019, the second round of counselling had been conducted on May 31 and on the same day PG medical admissions had been closed. Only considering this difficulty, the HC had passed interim orders in the interest of justice.

The students claimed that they were deprived from participating in a fair manner in the second round of counselling which was held on 31st May, 2019 and that was the reason for which they had sought relief from the High Court. Consequently, the HC bench had allowed provisional admissions without disturbing the admissions already made.

Further, the counsel for the students argued that the students were not at fault. Referring to the fact that it is the students who suffer, the counsel for the students also prayed for relief for the concerned students pointing out that they have already completed their course or they are at the verge of completing the same. Therefore, cancelling their admission at this stage will not only result in their loss of three precious years, but it will also not help the NMC and other concerned authorities.

After considering the submissions made by both the parties, the top court bench held

"That so far as the time schedule prescribed by the Medical Council of India in its Regulations, 2000 of which reference has been made for the academic year 2019­20 for admission to the post­graduate medical courses is concerned, it has to be strictly followed and that, in any circumstance, is not to be deviated."

Further clarifying that no discretions can be allowed to grant admissions after the cut-off date, the bench further observed,

"Last date for admissions to the post­graduate medical course will not be extended after 31st May and the schedule has been prescribed in compliance of the judgments of this Court of which reference has been made in Mridul Dhar(Minor) and Another(supra) followed by this Court in Priya Gupta (supra) and Ashish Ranjan and Others(supra) and this Court has consistently held that the schedule for admission to the post­graduate medical courses must be followed strictly leaving no discretion to any authority to permit admissions over the cut­off date under schedule for admission to post­graduate medical courses i.e. 31st May."

"That even when the complaints are made to this Court that large number of seats are lying vacant seeking extension of time to fill those unfilled undergraduate/post­graduate seats of medical courses, this Court always declined such requests and directed that schedule must be strictly adhered to," the court further observed at this outset.

In this context, the top court bench further referred to previous judgments in the case of Education Promotion Society for India and Another vs. Union of India and Others, and Dr. Astha Goel and Others vs. Medical Counselling Committee and Others.

Therefore, setting aside the HC order, the bench observed, "In the given facts and circumstances, in our considered view, the interim orders passed by the High Court granting provisional admissions in the post­graduate medical courses in the months of June and July, 2019 by orders dated 04th June, 2019, 16th July,2019 and 30th July, 2019 which were later made absolute by an order dated 04th November, 2019 are not legally sustainable."

"The feeble submission made by the respondents' counsel that a sympathetic view may be taken on the premise that they have been allowed to continue in their respective post­graduate medical courses for quite some time or few of them have completed the course in the interregnum despite the order of stay granted by this Court and the reliance placed on the judgment of this Court in Medical Council of India vs. Ritwik & Others6 , in our view, may not be of any assistance for the reason that it was a case where the student was selected in the counselling in the first year MBBS course but was not granted admission due to his inability to pay the fee before the last date i.e. 31st August, 2018 and he was allowed to continue and pursue the course by interim order passed by this Court. In the given peculiar facts and circumstances, his admission was approved under the order of this Court. As far as the cases of present respondents are concerned, they have participated in the second round of counselling but failed to get any seat in the post­graduate medical course because of lower rank in order of merit and by interim orders passed by the High Court, provisional admissions were granted to them ignoring the principle of merit which cannot be countenanced by this Court," added the judgment.

Therefore, clarifying that no sympathy can be shown to such students who had been admitted after the cut-off date violating the Regulations, 2000, the bench noted, "Consequently, the appeals succeed and are accordingly allowed. The impugned orders passed by the High Court in the respective appeals are hereby quashed and set aside. No costs."

To read the order, click on the link below.

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/supreme-court-pg-medical-admission-188482.pdf

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