SC clears way for this year’s medical admissions
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday exempted private and government medical colleges from the purview of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the single-window admission route for MBBS, BDS and post-graduate courses, for the academic year 2013-14.
In an interim order, a bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices A R Dave and Vikramjit Sen said "students who aspire to gain entry into medical colleges at the MBBS, BDS and the post-graduate level have been caught in a legal tangle for no fault of theirs and are the victims of policy decisions".
"In order to safeguard their interests, as also the interest of the hospitals, we consider it just and equitable to lift the bar imposed by us on December 13, 2012, and allow the results of the examinations already conducted to be declared to enable the students to take advantage of the same for the current year," the bench said.
However, it did not specify which test result the students should take advantage of - the ones conducted by individual medical colleges or the NEET - if they had appeared for both, which is the case with most aspiring doctors.
The bench had, as late as Friday, declined repeated requests to lift the interim stay on declaration of results it had imposed on December 13 last year. Two days later, it justified lifting of the stay saying it was in the interest of students and hospitals.
"Although, initially, we had declined to entertain such prayer, on account of the delay in completion of the hearing and the prospect of students losing a year on account thereof, we feel that students hoping to gain admission in MBBS as well as PG courses on the strength of the examinations, which have already been held and for which they had appeared, should not be denied such opportunity, at least for this year," the bench said.
This interim order, as far as admissions to PG courses are concerned, may not create confusion as private and government medical colleges can enroll students on the basis of either their own test or NEET. But for MBBS and BDS aspirants, it could create some confusion as only NEET was conducted and most colleges had not yet held their own tests.
Immediately after the interim order was passed on the first day of the apex court's summer break through a special sitting of the CJI-headed bench, additional solicitor general Siddharth Luthra for the Centre, senior advocate Nidesh Gupta for Medical Council of India and Tarachand Sharma, counsel for Central Board for Secondary Education which conducts NEET, sought clarification on what would be the basis for admission -- individual tests or NEET.
The court in an oral clarification said results of only those examinations which have already been conducted were being permitted to be declared and assured that the judgment on petitions challenging NEET, which was notified as a single-window admission route to curb unregulated commercialization of medical education, would be delivered on either July 2 or 4.
For admissions to MBBS and BDS courses, around 7.26 lakh students have appeared for NEET, conducted in eight languages with a test in Urdu scheduled for next month. Luthra and Gupta wanted to know what would be the basis of admissions to these undergraduate courses. The bench clarified that its main judgment, to be pronounced in the first week of July, would take care of it.
While allowing private medical colleges to admit students to PG courses from their own entrance tests, the bench said, "We are alive to the fact that it is the PG students in medical colleges who take charge of medical treatment of patients in hospitals. Without fresh entrants into the PG courses, even for a year, hospitals are likely to be adversely affected on account of lack of doctors to directly take care of patients in the hospitals."
SC okays fresh admissions to medical courses
The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for admission to graduate and post-graduate medical courses for the current academic session by lifting the bar on declaration of results for MBBS, BDS and post-graduate courses.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, which modified its earlier order in the matter, asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) and state universities to go ahead with the admission process.
"The students, who aspire to gain entry into medical colleges at the MBBS and BDS and the post-graduate levels, have been caught in the legal tangle for no fault of theirs and are the victims of policy decisions.
In order to safeguard their interests, as also the interest of the hospitals, we consider it just and equitable to lift the ban imposed by us on December 13, 2012," said the bench, also comprising Justice AR Dave and Justice Vikramjit Sen.
The order, however, does not clarify which scores - of MCI's National Eligibilty and Examination Test (NEET) or state examinations - would be considered eligible for admissions to post-graduate courses as students had taken both the exams conducted in December last.
The entrance tests were held after the SC permitted both - state universities and MCI - to go ahead with it.
But, at the same time it had restrained them from declaring the results.
The bench's interim order came after several colleges requested the court to alter its December 13, 2012 order.
SC directs declaration of medical entrance results; NEET verdict in July
New Delhi: The Supreme Court in an interim order on Monday ordered institutions to publish results of entrance exams that were put on hold by its judgement on December 13 last year.
The decision on validity of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS/postgraduate/dental and postgraduate courses is now likely to come in early July.
As per the order, states can now go ahead and declare exam results and admit students.
A Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices Vikramajit Sen and Anil R Dave had heard arguments based on the petitions filed by Andhra Pradesh Government and others for over 4 months and reserved the judgment on April 30.
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and several private colleges and individuals had filed petitions in their state High Courts and obtained an interim stay against NEET applicability.
In retrospect, the Medical Council of India had approached the Supreme Court to avoid multiplicity of proceedings.
MCI in its petition had claimed that NEET would avoid multiple entrance tests, lessen corrupt practices and irregularities in the admission procedure for medical courses.
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SC fillip for admission to medical courses
The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for admissions to postgraduate and undergraduate medical and dental courses by lifting the bar on declaration of results for entrance examinations.
A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir modified its December 13 order, which paved the way for announcement of results for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET) test introduced by the Medical Council of India (MCI). The court order implies that all private and government colleges can announce the results for admissions for the academic year 2013-14.
“The students, who aspire to gain entry to the medical colleges at the MBBS and BDS and the postgraduate levels, have been caught in a legal tangle for no fault of theirs and are victims of policy decisions. In order to safeguard their interests, as also the interest of the hospitals, we consider it just and equitable to lift the bar imposed by us on December 13, 2012, for this year’s entrance examinations,” the court said.
“We modify our order of December 13, 2012, and allow the results of the examinations already conducted to be declared to enable the students to take advantage of the same for the current year.”
The court, however, said its judgment on the validity of the NEET would be passed in July.
Passing the interim order, the court said the fate of thousands of students cannot be allowed to hang in balance due to a legal tussle between the MCI and private medical colleges.
“We feel that students hoping to gain admission to the MBBS as well as the postgraduate courses on the strength of the results of the examinations, which have already been held and for which they had appeared, should not be denied such an opportunity, at least for this year,” the bench, also comprising justices A R Dave and Vikramjit Sen, said.
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