NRI Students Move SC On NEET Regulations To Unaided Private Medical Colleges [Read Petition]

They are children of NRI parents and had taken admission to various private medical colleges for academic year 2016-17 on the basis of their marks in Intermediate (10+2) and requisite merit in the NRI category, but later they were denied admission and asked to undergo National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Their fate is now hanging on fire as the Telengana and Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed the colleges to consider the admissions for MBBS course only when they clear the NEET.

A group of such students have approached the Supreme Court questioning whether NEET regulations are applicable on admissions in the NRI quota seats in unaided private medical colleges.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the issue but asked their counsel Amit Kumar to provide a copy of the petition to Medical Council of the states concerned.

A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra now posted the matter for hearing on Jan. 30.

The students challenged the order passed in September 2016 by the high court that had dismissed their plea for a direction to unaided private colleges in the states to give them admission in the NRI quota.

It was contended in the plea that “applying NEET regulations on admissions to NRI quota seats in unaided private medical colleges is contrary to the law laid down by the Constitution Bench of Seven Hon’ble Judges of this Hon’ble Court in the case of P.A. Inamdar Vs. State of Maharashtra (2005)…”

“The impugned order is sustainable in light of observations made by the Constitution Bench that had permitted private entities to admit students in NRI quota by fulfilling two requirements, i.e., person should be bona-fide NRI and in that said category inter-se merit should not be compromised.”

On September 29, the high court had directed the colleges to admit the students subject to the condition that they have obtained at least 50 per cent of marks taken together in Physics, Chemistry and Biology in the intermediate (10+2) qualifying examination and they should be admitted as per their rank in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Pursuant to the directions issued by the apex court, the Central government had brought the NEET regulation through an ordinance on May 24, 2016, by amending the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

As per Section 10D of the Act, there was a requirement of uniform entrance examination to determine the merit in different categories and there was no requirement in the IMC Act to secure any minimum percentile marks.

Because the order of discharge of the Petitioners on the basis of NEET regulation by the university is legally misconceived as on the date of admission, Section 10D of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, was governing the field and the admissions could not have been invalidated/cancelled on the ground that the candidates have not secured qualifying marks in NEET.

Read the petition here.

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