NEET-UG: High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Inclusion Of 'Delhi Residence’ Criteria For State Quota Seats In Medical Colleges

The Delhi High Court has issued notice on a plea challenging the eligibility criteria for the State quota seats of NEET (UG) in medical colleges affiliated to Delhi University and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. 

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav sought response of the Delhi Government, Directorate General of Health Services, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Delhi University. The matter will be heard next on August 07.

The plea has been moved by a NEET aspirant Reet Singla who is represented by Senior Advocate Arvind Nayar and Advocates Ayush Beotra, Akshay Joshi and Shubham Pandey.

It is the petitioner’s case that the authorities have acted arbitrarily by not providing residence as one of the mandatory eligibility criteria for claiming the State quota seats and have restricted the same to “merely passing class 11th and 12th from a school affiliated to a recognised board Delhi.”

“Such irrational and arbitrary requirement has over the years resulted in illegal practices being resorted to by the schools within Delhi for illegitimately providing the ‘dummy schooling’ platform to students from outside Delhi who migrate to Delhi after their class 10th exams with the sole purpose of somehow availing the benefit of Delhi state quota seats,” the plea submits.

The aspirant has also alleged that various schools in the city have resorted to “illegitimately providing the dummy schooling platform” to students from outside Delhi who migrate to the city after their class 10th examination only to avail the benefit of State quota seats.

“The illegitimate ‘dummy schooling’ concept has emerged as an illegal via media for fulfilling the eligibility criteria for appearing in the NEET (UG) without any “difficulty” or “controversy” and at the same time being eligible for claiming the Delhi State Quota Seats,” the petitioner claims.

The petitioner aspirant has challenged a notification issued by GGSIPU on June 28 calling for submission of documents from eligible candidates for Delhi State quota seats.

A direction has also sought to include the criteria of residence as one of the mandatory eligibility conditions for aspirants to claim the State quota.

Title: MS. REET SINGLA v. GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS.