Bombay High Court Allows Doctor To Retain MBBS Admission Obtained On False OBC Certificate, Says Cancellation Will Be National Loss

The Bombay High Court recently refused to revoke the MBBS admission of a doctor though it was obtained under the OBC-Non-Creamy Layer Certificate based on false information. The Court observed that cancelling her admission would cause loss to the nation when the petitioner has qualified as a doctor.

“the Petitioner has completed the course of MBBS and therefore, it would not be proper at this stage to withdraw the qualification obtained by the Petitioner moreso when the Petitioner has qualified as a Doctor. In our country, where the ratio of the Doctors to the population is very low, any action to withdraw the qualification obtained by the Petitioner would be a national loss since the citizens of this country would be deprived of one Doctor”, the court observed.

A division bench of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain, however, cancelled the Non-Creamy Layer Certificate and reclassified her admission to the Open Category, directing her to pay the difference in fees as well as a penalty of Rs. 50,000 for false representation.

“We are conscious of high competition in admission to medical course and we are also conscious about high expenses to be incurred to enrol for the said course under the Open Category. However, that would not justify that the student should obtain the unfair means nor would it justify the action of the parents to be a part of the unfair means for getting the admission under the OBC Category”, the court said.

The court was dealing with a writ petition challenging the cancellation of petitioner's admission to a MBBS course on grounds of an invalid NCL certificate.

The petitioner enrolled in the MBBS course in Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital, Sion in the academic year 2012-13 under the OBC category, based on the OBC-NCL Certificate. Subsequently, an inquiry was initiated against all students admitted under the OBC category following a writ petition seeking scrutiny of such admissions.

The petitioner's father, who obtained the Certificate, was investigated by the Enquiry Committee. The Committee found discrepancies in his statements regarding marital status and income. Despite claiming to have divorced his wife in 2008, he stated they resided together for the sake of their children, which the Committee deemed contradictory. Additionally, the petitioner's father misrepresented his wife's employment status, claiming she had no income when, in fact, she was employed with the Corporation.

Based on the Enquiry Report, the college authorities cancelled the Certificate on October 8, 2013, leading to the subsequent cancellation of the petitioner's admission on February 1, 2014.

The petitioner approached the High Court on February 5, 2014, challenging the admission cancellation. The court granted interim relief, allowing the petitioner to continue her MBBS course. However, the court restricted her from receiving OBC category benefits.

The petitioner highlighted her completion of the MBBS course, internship, and Diploma Course in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She argued that her father's misrepresentation was due to his belief that divorce exempted his wife's income from consideration.

She contended that her father's income alone, as per the Government Resolution of October 14, 2008, fell below the prescribed limit for obtaining the Certificate. The petitioner asserted that her father provided accurate information and challenged the cancellation of the Certificate and admission.

The court analyzed the petitioner's father's application for an NCL Certificate dated June 25, 2012. Despite stating his wife was a housewife with no income, she was, in fact, employed as a Class-III employee with the Corporation, the court noted.

The court highlighted that the Government Resolution and Office Memorandum regarding the upper income limit for the Non-Creamy Layer Certificate do not specify considering only one parent's income. It emphasized that both parents' incomes should be taken into account.

This misinformation was an attempt to avoid exceeding the income limit for the certificate, the court opined. Additionally, the father's claim of having given Talaq to his wife conflicted with evidence of their continued cohabitation. The court found this argument self-contradictory and rejected it.

Thus, the court said that the Non-Creamy Layer Certificate application was based on false information, warranting its cancellation.

“If the medical profession is based on a foundation of false information then certainly it would be a blot on the noble profession. In our view, for that matter the foundation of any student should not be built on the basis of the false information and suppression of the fact”, the court remarked.

The petitioner had completed her MBBS course under interim court orders from February 2014 onwards, the court noted. The court acknowledged the unfair means by which she obtained admission and directed the college to confer her degree but reclassified her admission as "Open Category."

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 132 of 2017

Case Title – Lubna Shoukat Mujawar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.