NEET admission: Himachal HC orders NMC, medical university to compensate ₹2 lakh to petitioner

The Court has ordered the National Medical Commission, New Delhi, and Atal Medical and Research University, Nerchowk, Mandi, to pay ₹2 lakh each, as compensation to petitioner within four weeks for making the petitioner lose one full academic year

The high court of Himachal Pradesh has taken note of denial of admission to MBBS course against the vacancy arising as a result of the cancellation of the admission of two students who forged their NEET marksheet. The HC has ordered the National Medical Commission, New Delhi, and Atal Medical and Research University, Nerchowk, Mandi, to pay ₹2 lakh each, as compensation to the petitioner within four weeks for making the petitioner lose one full academic year.

The Court held that in the instant case no fault is attributable to the petitioner and that she had pursued her rights and legal remedies expeditiously and without delay.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, passed this order on a petition filed by one Sanjna Thakur.

The facts of the case are that two students who were granted admission to PTJLN Government Medical College, Chamba, and IGMC Shimla respectively, had forged their NEET marksheet and admission granted to them was cancelled on the ground that the documents submitted by them did not match with the available information on the National Medical Counsel Portal.

Thus, two seats in the undergraduate MBBS course became vacant in IGMC, Shimla, and in Pt JLNGMC, Chamba. The registrar, Atal Medical and Research University, Nerchowk Mandi, wrote to the NMC on January 17 this year, to grant the necessary permission/directions to it to fill up those two vacant seats at the earliest.

The petitioner contended that the she is next rank holder in the general category, so, she should be given the vacant seat, which has fallen vacant in the PTJLN Government Medical College, Chamba.

After complaining to various authorities, including the chief minister, the petitioner filed an instant writ petition on January 28.

The HC was shocked to note totally callous nature and irresponsible behaviour on the part of the above-mentioned respondents, as no reply was filed by the respondents in the matter of admission to the MBBS course, for which the academic session had commenced in November 2022.

The court observed that the petitioner is undoubtedly meritorious and is immediately next in the merit list of the candidates prepared after the second round of counseling of 2022 and is entitled to be admitted in the general category MBBS seat quota available in the PTJLN Government Medical College, Chamba. The HC held that in the instant case, no fault is attributable to the petitioner and that she had pursued her rights and legal remedies expeditiously and without delay.

The HC has ordered to grant admission to the petitioner in PTJLN Government Medical College, Chamba, in the 2023-2024 academic year to MBBS course and respondents have been directed to increase the number of seats allotted to the said college by one seat for that academic year.