MANAGING TRUSTEE PONNAIYAH RAMAJAYAM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TRUST Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Before the discovery of modern medicine, life was short-lived by humans. The environment was felt with unseen dangers in the form of diseases. Only medicine bridges the gap between science and society. In certain circumstances, a doctor can mean the difference between life and death. The accident and violent crime victims know the value of the doctor and their lives, because their lives depend on the skills of the responsible doctors. People who suffer grave injuries need a doctor to attend to them quickly, because the delay in treatment might simply mean the death. Not only the doctors save the lives of patients from critical ailments like hyper-tension, cancer, cardiac arrest etc., some doctors are indeed responsible for the increased life expectancy and improved well being in society. Many a time people who survive diseases such as sudden cardiac arrest without any notice owe their survival to the doctors whose skills and dedications are vital for their cure. Therefore, it is said that a doctor is a person with extensive knowledge in the domain of medical science, who applies and dedicates his knowledge to identify the medical problem faced by the patient and then uses his skill to prevent or cure it. Some of the doctors, showing their commitment and dedication to the values of life, save the patients from serious illnesses and thereupon further improve their span holding them to live their lives to the fullest extent. While paying tributes to doctors, we call some of them as heroes.

(2.) However, while making these personalities as heroic doctors, multiple private medical colleges which have cropped up all over the country with the intent for quick profits, throwing the basic standards of medical education to the wind, and many of them do not even maintain proper standards as prescribed by the Medical Council of India while awarding medical degrees. Even sometimes, most of the private colleges hold their own entrance examination for ostensible reasons with little transparency to the admission procedures, exploiting the system with the doctors without high standards and integrity. This finally resulted in producing less meritorious candidates with the doctor's degree. Moreover, the students from poor financial background and far-off places are unable to become doctors, therefore, to ensure reasonable opportunity to secure a seat in any medical college in the State, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG, which is an entrance test for students who wish to apply for medical courses viz., MBBS, BDS in the Government or private medical colleges in India, was introduced only to benefit all the students irrespective of rural and urban, poor and rich.

(3.) When a gazette notification dated 21.12.2010 was issued by the Medical Council of India amending the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education 1997 to the effect, inter alia, that the admissions to the MBBS course shall be based solely on the basis of the marks obtained in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (for short, the NEET ), this notification was challlenged by the Christian Medical College, Vellore in a batch of writ petitions before the Supreme Court, which came to be allowed and the decision of the Apex Court dated 18.7.2013 is reported in (2014) 2 SCC 305. After the said notification dated 21.12.2010 was quashed, the admission of students to the MBBS course through NEET was no longer held mandatory. However, on the petitions filed for review of the decision rendered by the Apex Court, finally by judgment dated 11.4.2016 in Medical Council of India v. Christian Medical College, Vellore, (2016) 4 SCC 342, the review petitions were ultimately allowed restoring the gazette notification dated 21.12.2010 issued by the Medical Council of India that the admissions to the MBBS course shall be based solely on the marks obtained in the NEET.