HC saves doctor from losing MBBS degree, Ophthalmology Diploma, imposes Rs 10.93 lakh penalty
Mumbai: To a great relief of a doctor who has about to lose his MBBS degree and PG diploma in Ophthalmology, the division bench of Maharashtra High Court has partially struck down an order of the Director of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and upheld Rs 10.93 lakh penalty.
Previously authorities ordered the college to cancel the degree of the doctor alleging that he has secured admission through the Scheduled Tribe category by producing a fabricated caste validity certificate.
The doctor has been identified as a 30-year-old Kurla resident who pursued his MBBS degree from a state-run Medical College in 2015 and completed a postgraduate diploma in ophthalmology in June 2019. He also completed his one-year internship in April 2016. However, it was found that he secured his medical seat at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital under the Scheduled Tribe quota by providing a fake caste certificate.
Eventually, the Caste Scrutiny Committee at Nandurbar had on February 12, 2019 informed the DMER that the Validity Certificate submitted by the Kurla resident while seeking admission to the MBBS course in the academic year 2010-11 was not issued by it.
Hence, DMER directed the medical colleges to write to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to immediately cancel the degree of the doctor while imposing a hefty fine on him for relying on forgery to secure admission. Acting on the order, the medical college directed him on August 21, 2019 to deposit an amount of ₹10.93 lakhs in total including ₹10 lakh towards penalty, 72,000 towards internship allowance, and ₹21,000 towards first-year fees, reports Hindustan Times.
To seek respite, the doctor approached the High court through advocate Madhav Thorat and submitted that his father met a certain person who inspected his documents and informed him that as they belonged to the Tadvi community, a Scheduled Tribe, they are eligible to seek admission under the reserved category. He further added that he secured the 854th rank in the open category and the 4th rank in the ST category, making him eligible for admission to a government medical college for an MBBS seat. As a result, he would be deemed to have been admitted under the open category as stated in Clause 2.4 of the Brochure for Admission Under MH-CET 2010, the counsel continued.
The case was disputed by a government attorney who claimed that the petitioner had submitted a fraudulent Caste Validity Certificate willfully in order to gain admission to the MBBS court and as a result, his degree was revoked. After considering the submission of both parties, on Tuesday, the division bench of justice SV Gangapurwala and justice RN Laddha partially struck down the communication issued by DMER on July 17th, 2019 considering that as per clause 2.4 of the brochure, it would be unethical to deny the degree of the petitioner.
The bench while issuing its order clarified that any person seeking admission under the reserved category will be eligible to get admission from the open category if he or she obtains a sufficient number to get admission under the open category and under such circumstances, one seat in the college where he was eligible for open seat shall be earmarked for a candidate belonging to the reserved category, reports Hindustan Times. "In that view, because of the admission of the petitioner, the seat of Scheduled Tribe reserved category candidate cannot be said to be lost," said the bench.
The bench, however, refrained from interfering with the order issued by Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital that ordered the petitioner to deposit ₹10.93 lakhs. "We feel the same to be appropriate and proper," said the bench, referring to the fact that had Khan been admitted from the open category he would not have got a much-sought-after MBBS seat in Mumbai, and therefore Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital were justified in imposing the penalty.
