Wrongful denial of admissions: HC orders State to pay ₹20 lakh each to three medical aspirants

Due to rampant irregularities in admissions of the private medical colleges, they were denied admission and students less meritorious than them were given admission. After receiving several complaints, the state constituted a committee to enquire into the allegations

MUMBAI: About 12 years after three young aspirants lost the opportunity to pursue medical courses due to rampant irregularities in admissions in private medical colleges, the Bombay high court last week directed the state government to pay ₹20 lakh to each of them as compensation.

Wrongful denial of admissions: HC orders State to pay ₹20 lakh each to three medical aspirants

Desiring to pursue medical courses in private colleges, Shubham Choudhary, a Virar resident, Snehal Deshpande from Buldhana, Mitali Salve from Vikhroli East and Ruchi Hemant Malik, a Dahisar resident, in 2012 appeared for the common entrance test conducted by the Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges, Maharashtra (AMUPMDC).

Due to rampant irregularities in admissions of the private medical colleges, they were denied admission and students less meritorious than them were given admission. After receiving several complaints, the state constituted a committee to enquire into the allegations. The committee found substance in the allegations and recommended strict action against the institutions and officials involved in the irregularities.

Some of the affected students, who had lost opportunities to pursue medical education because of the irregularities, approached the high court and later the Supreme Court. The apex court in September 2014 directed the state to compensate the petitioner students by paying each of them ₹20 lakh towards public law damages and further directed the state to act against officers involved in the irregularities which resulted in meritorious students being denied admission.

In 2015, the four petitioners approached the high court for damages, claiming they were similarly situated and had also lost opportunities to pursue medical courses despite being meritorious. The state government opposed their prayers, contending they were not before the Supreme Court and therefore not entitled to the relief.

A division bench of justice AS Chandurkar and justice Jitendra Jain accepted their argument after noticing that in March 2019, the state had paid the amount to one of the petitioners – Snehal Deshpande for the lost opportunity. “If that be so, we failed to understand how Respondent No.6 (State) can submit that since the other three petitioners were not before the Supreme Court, they are not entitled to a sum of ₹20,00,000,” the bench said.

Besides, the court also took into consideration that in March 2015, the state had issued letters to the petitioners and asked them to submit certain documents, to enable the medical education department to process their claims for damages and the petitioners had complied with the requirement but did not get the amounts.

The court has now ordered Choudhary, Salve and Malik to comply with the documentary requirement in two weeks and directed the state to pay them ₹20 lakh each as damages for the lost opportunities in four weeks.