6 April 2024 1:50 PM GMT
The Supreme Court on Friday (April 5) stayed the Gujarat High Court's decision to uphold a 'Teli' caste student's cancellation of MBBS admission in Government Medical College (GMC), Vadodara. The said cancellation was done as consequence of refusing recognize the applicability of his Social and Economically Backward Certificate (SEBC) in the state of Gujarat.
The bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra, while issuing notice in the petition, directed that the petitioner's studies shall continue in the present college until the stay on the impugned judgement operates. The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Yatin Oza.
Belonging to the 'Teli' subcaste, the Petitioner's family hails from Uttar Pradesh. The petitioner, despite his father's financial struggles as a panipuri seller, managed to score 613/ 720 marks in the NEET UG-examination 2022. Subsequently on the basis of his SEBC certificate, he obtained admission in GMC, Vadodara.
Upon perusal the Scrutiny Committee cancelled the SEBC certificate on 29.8.23, on the grounds that the petitioner does not belong to the Teli caste as recognized under the Socially and Economically Backward Community (SEBI)in the State of Gujarat, rather, he belongs to a caste 'Teli', which is of Other Backward Class category in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Thereafter, his admission to the college was also cancelled by the Admission Committee by the order dated 1.9.2023.
Challenge Before The Gujarat High Court
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Nikhil Kariel, while finding no error in the decision of the scrutiny committee, however ruled in the favor of the petitioner on the grounds of equity. Taking a lenient view of the matter, the bench observed that irrespective of the SEBC certificate, the petitioner scored significantly high scores in the NEET exam. The bench directed the restoration of his admission seat and allowed the petitioner to appear in the Supplementary Examination to save his one academic year by cooperating with the Respondent Authorities. It may be noted that only the Admission Committee's was under challenge and the not the cancellation order by the Scrutiny Committee.
In a Letters Patent Appeal, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee upheld the admission cancellation orders noting that the single bench has errored in evoking extraordinary jurisdiction for the petitioner since the SEBC certificate upon the basis on which the admission was sought itself was invalid. Allowing the petitioner to hold the admission seat would lead to unjust enrichment at the cost of a genuinely deserving candidate under the reserved category.
Petitioner's Eligibility In Open Category In Other Colleges Not Affected - Bench Observes
In its order, the Supreme Court observed that in the absence of dependency on the SEBC certificate, the petitioner would still be eligible for admission in other colleges where the cut-off is lower than GMC Vadodara.
A similar observation was also made by the single judge who noted that in the open category, the petitioner ranked 600, and when seen with the benefit of the SEBC certificate, the rank increases to 154.
The Supreme Court sought a response from the college authorities and the Admission Committee. The matter will now be heard after 4 weeks.
Case Details : ALPESHKUMAR RAMSINH RATHOD V. ADMISSION COMMITTEE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL EDUCATIONAL COURSES & ORS. Diary No(s). 14510/2024