Punjab and Haryana high court asks GMCH-32 to keep proceedings of NRI-seat counselling sealed

The high court was hearing a plea from one candidate, Aanchal Setia, who had demanded that the first degree relatives of NRIs be eligible for the NRI category seats offered by the institute

The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, (GMCH-32) to keep proceedings of NRI-seat counselling for MBBS course in a sealed cover.

HT FILE

The high court was hearing a plea from one candidate, Aanchal Setia, who had demanded that the first degree relatives of NRIs be eligible for the NRI category seats offered by the institute.

The petitioner had brought before the court the contradiction in the eligibility criteria laid down in prospectus by the college stating that for the admissions to MBBS / BDS courses for students under the NRI category, Harvansh Singh Judge Dental College, Panjab University, has expanded the scope of the definition of NRI candidates to include first degree NRI relatives like uncles and aunts of the candidate in the NRI category, but GMCH excludes first-degree blood relatives and limits the criterion for candidates who resided in a foreign country for a certain period or have their parents or grandparents residing in other nations.

Both the institutes are affiliated to the Panjab University therefore, there can’t be two different sets of rules for admissions for the same course, the court was told.

The girl has studied in Chandigarh and, her paternal uncle resides in the United States of America. The Chandigarh administration has to respond to the plea by Thursday. The college has 150 MBBS seats, of which 115 are under the UT quota. Of the remaining, 23 are under the all-India quota, three under the central pool, and nine under the NRI quota.