GUJCET merit to be the criteria for admission on 105 surrendered management quota GMERS seats:High Court

Ahmedabad: In a significant decision, the Gujarat High Court today ordered that the 105 surrendered management quota seats of the medical colleges of the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) would be filled through Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) this year and not the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The Division bench of Chief Justice V Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi ordered that the 105 seats of management quota would be filled this year on the basis of GUJCET results and not on the basis of NEET merit list. The court passed the order on the basis of the submission by the state government.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education Shanker Chaudhary welcomed the decision saying that the court had upheld the state government’s stand.

The court during the hearing of the matter earlier this month had pulled up the state government for the last minute changes in its stand to convert the self financed college management quota seats into government quota and changing the criterion for eligibility on the basis GUJCET results in the middle of the admission process. It had also sought a reply from all seven colleges and their managements as well as to the Admission Committee for Professional and Medical Courses and the state government for changing the scheme of admission. It had also allowed the ACPC to go ahead with its mock round asking them to exercise refrain in finalizing their results.

Three students had moved the high court against the decision of the state government to surrender 105 management quota seats in GMERS colleges and insisting on filling them through GUJCET. The petitioners demanded that the seats should be filled through NEET, claiming that this last minute change in admission criteria was a tactic to accommodate certain students.

The petitioners had objected further stating no changes could be done once a admission practice was underway; calling it a direct breach of principles of natural justice and an attack on the doctrine of legitimate expectations of students who fared well in the NEET exam. The petitioners questioned the provisions of rule 3B (3) of the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Rules stating that it is against the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act, which governs admissions to management quota seats by the NEET exam only. Therefore, such transformation of seats is in violation of law, the petition contends.

DeshGujarat