Court tells college to pay ₹20 lakh to student denied medical admission

MUMBAI: Taking a stern view of the illegalities in admissions to medical courses, the Bombay high court on Tuesday directed a private medical college to pay ₹20 lakh as compensation to a student, who was denied admission to an MBBS course despite being meritorious.

A bench of Justice TV Nalawade and Justice Sunil Kotwal also asked the state government to initiate action to withdraw recognition and affiliation to Godavari Foundation’s Dr Ulhas Patil Medical College and Hospital at Jalgaon for committing breaches in admission process.

Apart from refusing to regularise admissions for the MBBS course given to 19 non-meritorious students, the bench also sought names of people on the management board of Godavari Foundation, so as to initiate proceedings for contempt of court against them for flouting directions issued by the top court from time to time.

“There was flagrant violation of the procedure laid down by the Apex Court and the objective behind it was of profiteering,” said the bench commenting upon conduct of the trust management. “The management did everything in flagrant violation of the procedure laid down by PNS (Pravesh Niyantran Samiti) and it was done solely to make money,” it said.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Tejaswini Phad, a resident of Parbhani district. The 24-year-old had approached the Aurangabad bench of HC in 2013, after noticing that the medical college had admitted lesser meritorious students than her.

She contended that the PNS had prescribed a procedure for the admissions but Dr Ulhas Patil Medical College completely breached them.

THE PETITIONER CONTENDED THAT THE COLLEGE BREACHED

THE DUE PROCEDURE AND ADMITTED LESS MERITORIOUS STUDENTS ON THE VACANT SEATS