HC raps health varsity for ‘mockery’ of PG admissions; seats reclassified

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We wonder how (Baba Farid) university would fail to notice a deviation in allocation of seat to the constituent colleges and it would not even raise a query about it... This only makes a mockery of the entire admission process undertaken by the university.

PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT, on BFUHS admission lapse

FARIDKOT : The Punjab and Haryana high court has come down heavily on the state-run Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, and Punjab’s directorate of medical education and research, while hearing a petition filed by a postgraduate admission aspirant Siddahartha Kaushik who had challenged the distribution of seats at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana.

The matter concerns allocation of preferential seats for those who have passed their qualifying exam from BFUHS. The admission panel of BFUHS, nodal body for Post Graduate medical admissions in the state, had okayed the distribution of the 57 PG degree (MD/MS) seats at this college into 36 for open general category, 23 for those who commit to government service, and nine to NRIs.

This was in violation of the government’s own notification earlier this year, argued the petitioner who went to court last month.

The HC order, as available online on Friday, said the counsel for the state was not able to offer any justification as to why there was a deviation from the notification.

The HC heard the case on May 16, and later the directorate of medical education and research revised the distribution by giving 25 seats of Post Graduate degree courses to the preference category on May 17.

Now the break-up is: 25 for institutional preference, 23 to minority quota, seven to NRIs and two to Scheduled Castes. However, a key question remains: What about aspirants who were allotted seats at CMC in recent counselling as per the older categorisation? Seven MD/MS seats remain at CMC after the final round on May 15.

Siddahartha’s counsel Ashok Kumar Nabhewala had noted that institutional preference seats “were not indicated”, rather “they were thrown open for aspirants from open general category”.

This, he said, went against the notification that provided 50% reservation by way of institutional preference among general category candidates who have passed their qualifying examination from BFUHS”.

The petitioner had cited the categorisation of another minority institution to demand it on similar lines at CMC.

The court said it “would wonder” how the university “would fail to notice a deviation in allocation of seat to the constituent colleges and it would not even raise a query about it,” during a May 14 hearing.

“This only makes a mockery of the entire admission process undertaken” by the university, it added.

The HC noted that,as per the stated case, allocation of the seats is to be made by the college and sent to the state government for approval.

“Evidently, State is in default in upholding its own instructions. Similarly, admission committee of the university represented by a counsel has merely shrugged off its responsibility and has stated that they would have no concern with the allocation of seats.”

Despite repeated attempts, director of medical education and research Avnish Kumar didn’t respond to calls.