Restores admissions to NEET-cleared students
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has slammed the Goa Government for meddling into the post graduate medical courses in the only medical college in the state violating its July 18 verdict and restored admissions to those students, who had cleared the all India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), but were subsequently ousted through a government order of July 25.
The Court noted that the majority ruling in the July 18 judgment was unequivocal in its quashing of the notification since the Medical Council of India is not empowered to conduct the NEET shall not invalidate admissions already given on basis of NEET.
The court minced no words when it came to the Goa government, for what it termed was “absence of common sense in an uncommon degree”.
“After the judgment was pronounced, some kind of infantile wisdom which may, in different terminology, be called depraved sense of egocentric knowledge, the Additional Secretary (Health) had conveyed the Government’s decision that “Provisional admissions given on the basis of the NEET merit earlier thus stands cancelled,” the court order reads.
“The present litigation exposits a sad sad scenario. It is sad because a chaos has crept in, in the lives of some students and it is further sad as the State of Goa and its functionaries have allowed ingress of systemic anarchy throwing propriety to the winds possibly harbouring the attitude of utter indifference and nurturing an incurable propensity to pave the path of deliberate labyrinth which not only assaults the majesty, sanctity and purity of law, but also simultaneously creates a complex situation requiring this Court to intervene in a different manner to redeem the situation as far as possible so that there is some sanguine cathartic effect,” the court order reads.
In a lengthy judgment delivered on Friday but released only on Saturday on a writ petition by Aneesh D Lawande and others, the Bench of Justices Anil Dave and Deepak Misra felt sympathetic for the students who were admitted on the basis of the government’s July 25 order and did studies for some time.
“The anguish of the students who were admitted on the basis of the (2004) Rules, in our considered opinion, deserves to be addressed,” the court said while directing admissions from among them against 21 all-India quota seats in the postgraduate medical courses transferred to the state quota, but with a rider that none shall encroach upon the streams already allotted to those admitted for qualifying in the NEET. Noting that some students have left the college, it said the vacancies may be filled up on merit as stipulated under the rules.
The Court did not agree to allow enhancement of the seats in the current year since the college’s application was pending to increase the seats in the next academic year of 2014-15. It also overruled adjusting the left-out students next year.
“It will not be appropriate to issue directions to adjust them in respect of the subsequent academic year, for taking recourse to the same would affect the other meritorious candidates who would be aspirant to get admissions next year. For doing equity to some in praesenti, we cannot afford to do injustice to others in future,” the Court held.
The court deprecated the state government’s surprise order to the medical college to oust the NEET-passed students already admitted since it amounted “to crucify the fate of the candidates who had been protected by the verdict of this Court.” Holding that such an action is “absolutely impermissible,” it held that “the letter dated 25.7.2013 deserves to be lancinated” and the writ petitioners, who have been admitted on the basis of the NEET, shall be allowed to prosecute their studies.”
“It is really perplexing that the State Government in spite of the order of this Court took a decision on 25.7.2013 to cancel the provisional admissions given to the students on the basis of NEET merit. The act indubitably shows a total lack of prudence. The authorities in the Government are required to understand that basic governance consists in the act of taking considered, well vigilant, appropriate and legal decisions. It is the sacrosanct duty of the Government to follow the law and the pronouncements of the court and not to take recourse to such subterfuges.”
