State’s admissions move challenged

The Deemed University, Medical and Dental has challenged the state government’s decision to conduct admission to the seats in their institutions in the Bombay high court. The petition filed by DY Patil College has said that the state’s announcement to conduct centralised admissions based on NEET scores for 85 per cent seats is against its right to conduct admissions on its own as espoused in various Acts administering the admission or counselling process. The advocate general on behalf of the state argued that the state was trying to have a single window process and curb malpractice.

The division bench of justices S. Kemkar and M.S. Karnik was hearing the petition that complained that while the Central government, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Medical Council of India (MCI) had given them the right to conduct admissions to their institutes, the state had wrongly invoked article 162 of the Constitution to interfere with and infringe on their right. The state medical education ministry had issued a GR last week announcing that admissions to private medical and dental colleges and deemed universities based on NEET scores would be conducted by the state for 85 per cent seats through a centralised process. While all admissions to all medical and dental colleges regardless of being private or deemed are to be conducted through NEET scores only, the counsel for the petitioner said that they were not bound by the rules to conduct admission through the state machinery.

The advocate general argued that while the rules gave deemed university autonomy there were no specific rules mentioned with regards to admissions and hence the state had included deemed university in the centralised process for admissions to 85 per cent seats. “The intent for using the powers conferred on the state through article 162 are purely meant to ensure a transparent and malpractice-free admission process and as the deemed university are to conduct admissions based on NEET scores just as private institutions, the state included them in the centralised admission process,” said Rohit Deo.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Kemkar said that due to the urgency of the matter the bench would give out an order within a day.