Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has quashed an order by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) restricting a 22-year-old student from getting admission to MBBS, despite making it to the merit list.
A Division Bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and Bharati Dangre was hearing a plea filed by Bipin Blowda, a resident of Navy Nagar, Colaba. He had moved the court seeking cancellation of the DMER order and asked that one seat in the open category be kept vacant for him.
Mr. Blowda is from Rajasthan and secured 96.8% in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for academic year of 2017-18. It made him eligible for admission to the college of his choice in Maharashtra and the all-India quota in the open category.
He secured a seat in Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College and Hospital, and submitted his original documents and paid the fees on August 5. Two days later, however, he got a letter saying his admission had been cancelled.
Past record
After asking for the reason, he learnt that the admission was cancelled because he had previously obtained admission to MBBS as a scheduled tribe candidate by submitting fabricated caste documents in relation to his caste. That admission had been cancelled, and a criminal case had been registered against him. He was debarred by the DMER from pursuing health science courses in Maharashtra.
Mr. Blowda had also paid a penalty of ₹10 lakh for wasting an MBBS seat as the cut-off date had passed and it could not be filled. He also had to pay the remaining tuition fees of Seth G.S. Medical College, where he was admitted.
Merit-based seat
Senior counsel Mihir Desai said Mr. Blowda’s past had been wiped when the earlier admission was cancelled. He had been allotted a fresh seat in the open category based on the NEET merit list, as per the DMER rules, he said.
The additional government pleader said Mr. Blowda would be accommodated in Terna College in Navi Mumbai on the basis of his merit.
The court quashed the DMER order and confirmed Mr. Blowda’s admission in Terna College.
