31 Jan 2024 9:00 AM GMT
While hearing a plea against the embargo placed on medical candidates resigning from NEET seats after joining, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Directorate General of Health Services - Medical Counselling Committee (DGHS-MCC) to permit 3 doctors, who had secured selection in Super Specialty courses in INIs (Institutions of National Importance), to resign from the Institutes where they were admitted.
The Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol added that the seats becoming vacant on the 3 petitioner-doctors' resignation shall be added to the mop-up round.
The petitioners in the present case had approached the Supreme Court with a grievance that the medical colleges they were admitted to pursuant to NEET-SS Counselling were going to impose penalties on them if they resigned.
Their case was that the idea behind colleges fixing penalties is that allotment shall attain finality. However, even after 2 rounds of NEET counselling, 500 seats were lying vacant for which a third round of counselling (mop-up round) was likely to be conducted. As such, their resignation would not adversely impact any college, yet, they were being forced to remain in the allotted seats on account of excessive penalties.
The petitioners averred that the imposition of penalty on candidates selected in 2nd round of INI counselling was discriminatory, as those selected in INI through round 1 were allowed to resign without forfeiture and penalty.
In support of their case, the petitioners cited an order passed by the court in April, 2023 in a similar case, where candidates were allowed to resign from their seats. It was pointed out that the seats becoming vacant upon resignation were added to the mop-up round.
Background
National Eligibility Entrance Test (Postgraduate) [“NEET PG”] and Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Examination [“INI CET”] are entrance exams for higher medical studies in leading colleges. While NEET is conducted annually for admission to various MD, MS, postgraduate MBBS DNB, and PG Diploma courses, INI CET is organized twice a year for admission in D.M/M.Ch/MD(HA) courses in 16 top medical Institutions, such as AIIMS.
The petitioners wrote the NEET-Super Specialty (NEET-SS) in 2023. Following declaration of results for the same on October 15, 2023, a Counselling Scheme and Schedule for Counselling were released by the MCC of DGHS, which indicated that counselling was to be conducted in 2 rounds. It was further indicated that a candidate who joined an allocated seat could not resign without imposition of penalty.
Certain petitioners got selected in round 2 of the INI counselling. However, to be able to join the INI courses, they were required to resign from NEET-SS seats, but the same was not being permitted. The colleges that the petitioners joined pursuant to NEET counselling communicated huge penalties for resignation, ranging from 7 lacs to 50 lacs.
Counsels for petitioners: Senior Advocate Devadutt Kamat; AORs Vishnu Sharma AS and Rashmi Nandakumar; Advocates Purvi Mathur, Kushagra Sharma, Anubhav Kumar and Revanta Solanki
Counsels for respondents: ASG Aishwarya Bhati; Senior Advocate Dr Manish Singhvi; AOR DK Devesh; Advocates GS Makker, Shubhangi Agarwal, Apurv S, Anuj Gupta, Shailesh Joshi, Chirag M Shroff, Dhananjay Kataria, Prashant Kumar Umrao, Kumar Gaurav, Tom Joseph, and Linto KB
CASE TITLE: VANDEEP SINGH BASRA & ORS. VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS., W.P.(C) No.32/2024