SC seeks Centre's response on irregularities in Pondicherry medical admission

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Centre and Medical Council of India on a petition highlighting irregularities in medical admissions made by three colleges in Puducherry and denying admissions to meritorious students who passed the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Neet).

A Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices N.V. Ramana and D.Y. Chandrachud after hearing counsel G.S. Mani issued notice on a petition filed by School and Higher Education Parents Students Welfare Association (Regd) by its founder-president S. Subramaniyan.

The petitioner pointed out that after the Neet results the nodal officer did not take any steps to conduct the common counseling for admissions. In the meantime the private colleges had conducted counseling and done MBBS and BDS admissions directly without any interference and counseling by the state admission authority.

The petitioner association made a representation with the chairman, admission committee (Neet), with a request for cancellation of MBBS and BDS admissions directly done by all deemed universities and private medical colleges in Puducherry without any counseling or scrutiny done by Admission Committee as per the order of this court. Since the state government had not taken any action on the representation of the petitioner association, the present writ petition is filed.

The Association said the parents of Neet eligible candidates are facing several problems in getting admission for the MBBS & BDS courses.  The private medical colleges not only denied admission to Neet candidates but also collected a tuition fee of Rs. 18 to Rs. 20 lakhs from each student illegally admitted contrary to fees fixed by the fee fixation committee.

 The chairman of fee committee viz. Justice S. Rajeswaran (retd) had written a complaint to the Chief Justice of Madras high court with a request to take action against the private medical colleges on complaint of various students that “many students, who seek admission in these colleges, with Neet marks have been sent out of the colleges without admission as if, they decline to accept the offer made. But the fact is, the students/parents have been sent back as they could not pay the exorbitant amount of fees that are being demanded by he above said institutions, the petition said and prayed for canceling the medical admissions and to admit students from Neet rank list.