NIBIR JYOTI DAS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRELUDE:

(2.) Admission to unaided private educational institutions in the State of Maharashtra imparting education in professional courses including imparting education in the field of Health Sciences is regulated by the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutes (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015 (hereafter "the 2015 Act", for short). Power is conferred by Section 23 of the 2015 Act to the State Government to frame Rules. In exercise of such power, the State Government has framed Rules titled "The Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions to the Full Time Professional Undergraduate Medical and Dental Courses) Rules, 2016 (hereafter "the 2016 Rules", for short). Rule 8 of the 2016 Rules provides for allocation of seats. The percentage of allocation of seats for various types of candidates through National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (hereafter "NEET", for short) for the first year of medical courses shall be as per the regulations of the Medical Council of India (hereafter "the MCI", for short) and in accordance with the policy of the Government as specified in the Schedule. It is considered appropriate to reproduce the Schedule hereunder:

(3.) The 2016 Rules having been brought into force with effect from August 18, 2016, the eligibility criteria for seeking admission in undergraduate medical courses, with which we are presently concerned, were as under: