Supreme Court Adjourns Pleas Seeking JIPMER Roster Model For AIIMS PG Admissions Till January 24

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the batch of pleas seeking the JIPMER Roster Model for Institutional Preference be followed in AIIMS PG Admissions and INI CET Examination for January 24, 2022.

The bench of Justices LN Rao and BR Gavai also directed the respondents to file counter affidavits.

When the matter was called for hearing, Advocate Charu Mathur appearing for Students Association AIIMS, Bhopal submitted that the petitioners were waiting for the response of AIIMS.

On Advocate Charu Mathur's submission, Justice LN Rao the presiding judge of the bench asked Advocate Dushyant Parashar for AIIMS if the respondents were willing to file the response.

"Do you want to file a response or are you ready to argue the matter? PG admissions have to start and we've to hear the matter immediately," asked Justice LN Rao, the presiding judge of the bench.

Appearing for AIIMS Student Association, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar submitted that AIIMS had got a legal opinion as per which they were willing to comply with the roster system but just wanted an order clarifying the same from the Top Court.

"In JIPMER system there is a roster system. AIIMS have got a legal opinion but they don't want to do anything contrary to what the SC has said. Just want the order clarifying that they can comply with the roaster system," submitted Senior Advocate Arvind Datar.

On Senior Advocate Datar's submission, Justice Rao further asked Advocate Parashar to get instructions on the same and file an affidavit in this regard.

"Students who are your students are not getting the branch of studies which they want. You get instructions and we will list it on Monday. So far as your institutions are concerned, when is the counselling for PG? Is there any date given? You file the reply. We will list the matter after 2 weeks," remarked Justice Rao.

Although, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar requested the matter to be heard on next Wednesday, remarking that the bench could not have too many cases, the bench adjourned the matter for January 24, 2022.

Details Of The Petition Filed By Students Association AIIMS, Bhopal

Along with seeking for a defined criteria for arriving at seat matrix for the institutional preference candidates in INI-CET examination, the petition had also sought to provide for roaster wise/ discipline wise seat allocation for institutional preference candidates who seek admission via INI CET examinations.

It was argued that by not having a defined mechanism for seat allocation to the students coming from the Institutional preference route was causing hardship as they were not able to secure seats in the desired/sort after disciplines and that even when the students were eligible they were deprived of the institutional preference.

Averments that it is imperative for directing the Respondents to provide the exact distribution of seats as to how the 50% criteria for institutional preference is met by them and to strictly adhere to the 50% criteria for institutional preference were also made.

The petitioners were represented by Dubey Law Associates and the petition was filed through Advocate Charu Mathur.

Details Of The Petition Filed By Students Association AIIMS

The petitioners in the petition drafted by Advocate Pranjal Kishore and filed by Advocate on Record Aditya Jain argued that by the time the seats were allocated through institutional preference, seats in all the popular courses are filled up as a result of which students from AIIMS do not opt for admissions through institutional preference.

The petition submitted that according to RTI response between 2017-2021, only 50 AIIMS students had availed of institutional preference. The petitioners had also prayed that the roster system followed by JIPMER be applied to AIIMS post-graduate admissions too.

Case Title: Students Association AIIMS Bhopal & Ors. v. All India Institute of Medical Sciences & Ors.| WP (Civil) 1329/2021;  AIIMS Student Association v Union of India WP(C) No.1238/2021

Read/Download the Order here