Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 22: The High Court while holding the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) responsible for reshuffle of professional seats and not providing suitable seats to the NEET-PG entrants of sessions 2023-24 in order to absorb the eligible candidates directed the BOPEE to take up the matter with Indian Medical Council (IMC) for increasing the number of seats for the next academic session for absorption of these candidates.
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The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Rajesh Sekhri directed the BOPEE to take up the matter with Indian Medical Council for increasing the number of seats i.e. one seat each in MS Ortho in GMC, Srinagar, MD Psychiatry in SKIMS, MS General Surgery in GMC, Jammu and MS Orthopedics in GMC, Jammu, for the next academic session so that the aggrieved candidates are given admission.
“The aforesaid process shall be initiated by the BOPEE well in time so that the admission of these aggrieved candidates are made along with others in the next academic session. The J&K BOPEE shall do well to take up the matter immediately with the Indian Medical Council or any other competent authority, as may be required under rules, within a period of one week from the date a copy of this judgment is served upon it”, the DB directed.
The court further directed the Indian Medical Council to immediately respond to the request of the J&K BOPEE as the same is with a view to comply with the judgment passed by the Court.
According to 11 aggrieved candidates, consequent upon declaration of NEET-PG 2023 result, they submitted their preference of disciplines online where-after 8 candidates were allotted various disciplines, which according to them is not in accordance with their preference.
They submitted that their preferred disciplines chosen by them have been allocated to reserved category candidates who have secured lesser merit and other three candidates stated that they have not been allocated any seat because the preferences of disciplines opted by them have been allocated to the candidates of reserved categories having lower merit.
The court after having heard the Senior Counsel Syed Faisal Qadri for aggrieved candidates held that the candidates are entitled to admission in MS Ortho in GMC, Srinagar, MD Psychiatry in SKIMS, Srinagar, MS General Surgery in GMC, Jammu and MS Orthopedics in GMC, Jammu.
The court has also imposed costs on BOPEE and directed to pay Rs. 2 lakhs as compensation to each of the candidates for having denied them their rightful claims. All these petitioners had approached this Court at the earliest i.e., on 24th August, 2023, immediately after the issuance of impugned provisional selection list dated 20th August, 2023. The selection process was concluded on 20th October, 2023, but unfortunately their plea could not be disposed of before the said date, therefore, the court has held that there is no fault attributed to these candidates.
All these candidates have been denied a seat of their preferred discipline by erroneous application of Rules 15 and 17 of the Reservation Rules which has resulted in denial of seats to them and allocation of the same to candidates belonging to other reserved categories who, admittedly, were having lesser merit.
Court has held the BOPEE responsible for not having illustrated even a single instance in their affidavit to show that application of Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules in the case of MRCs of EWS category has resulted in imbalance or anomalous situation.
BOPEE contended that the Board has discretion to apply Rule 17 in a manner so as to avoid hardship to a meritorious category candidate and thus the Board was well within its jurisdiction to restrict the applicability of Rule 17 to the number of seats reserved for that particular category.
Court said this logic projected by the Board for deviating in applicability of Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules does not appear to be sound for the reason that on ground it has resulted in hardship to meritorious category candidates, inasmuch as the petitioners are definitely more meritorious than those category candidates who have been allocated disciplines/seats regarding which the petitioners had given their preference.
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