Bombay HC grants admission to MBBS aspirant in Maharashtra college through supernumerary seat

NEW DELHI: Following a Bombay High Court order granting admission to an MBBS aspirant through a supernumerary seat, who was denied admission in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurga Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Medical College over a caste certificate, the state government has asked the National Medical Commission (NMC) to allow the creation of an extra seat for admitting the student.

Claiming to belong to the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, the petitioner was denied admission to the first-year MBBS course at the college during the stray vacancy round of Maharashtra NEET UG counselling 2024 for the academic year 2024-2025, due to a mismatch in the caste certificates.

“The Hon'ble High Court, Bombay has ordered to grant admission to the petitioner by creating one (1) additional supernumerary seat in Sindhudurga Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Medical College, Dist. Sindhudurg, State of Maharashtra for Academic Year 2024-2025. As the matter of permission or increase in intake capacity is decided by the National Medical Commission, New Delhi, you are requested to do the needful and inform us accordingly. This will enable Respondent No. 5 to complete the admission process of the petitioner in the compliance of Hon'ble High Court, Bombay Order mentioned above,” the director of medical education and research stated in a letter to NMC.

"We welcome the court's intervention in this matter of grave injustice. This is a prime example of how medical colleges in Maharashtra deny admission to meritorious candidates, while the government authorities turn a blind eye. We hope that this judgment propels the authorities into working for the students' interests, not colleges'," said Anand Bapat, a Pune-based activist of Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, who helped the candidate mount a legal challenge against SSPM College.

Selected in Maharashtra NEET UG counselling 2024

The aspirant asserted that she was eligible for admissions, based on the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) UG results 2024 declared on July 26, 2024. She applied for the counselling, and her name appeared on the general waiting list.

Among the required documents, the petitioner submitted both a caste certificate and a caste validity certificate. The caste validity certificate, issued by the District Caste Scrutiny Committee, Amravati, on October 19, 2022, was provided along with the caste certificate from the sub-divisional officer, Morshi, dated August 8, 2024. However, the petitioner was denied admission on the grounds that the date mentioned in the caste certificate did not match the one referenced in the caste validity certificate.

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Misplaced certificate

The petitioner’s counsel Priyal Sarda argued that the petitioner belongs to the OBC caste based on the certificate issued to her. The caste certificate referred to a caste validity certificate which was issued three years ago. However, the validity certificate was misplaced, due to which the petitioner could not present it at the time of admissions. Moreover, she could not get a duplicate validity certificate as old records were unavailable. Thus, the petitioner submitted a fresh caste certificate.

The state Common Entrance Test (CET) cell, argued that the petitioner could not be admitted to the college because the deadline was over and seats were not available. The college denied that the student was not admitted deliberately, explaining that it was due to submission of a different caste certificate instead of the one referenced in the validity certificate. It pointed out that no seats were left vacant, and denied the petitioner’s allegations.

Granting relief to the petitioner, the court said, “In that view of the matter, it is held that the petitioner is entitled to be admitted at the First Year MBBS Course at the respondent no.7 – College under the Institutional Stray Vacancy by directing creation of a supernumerary seat. The petitioner would be liable to pay tuition fees and other fees as payable by a student who has secured admission in the Institutional Stray Vacancy Round.”