ANKIT RAJ, S/O AMRESH KUMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA THROUGH SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE, NEW DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner was one of the candidates, who applied and qualified in NEET, 2016. The NEET was introduced for the first time in the year 2016 on the judgment and direction issued by the Hon'ble Apex Court to have a unified process of examination and admission in under graduate medical colleges across the country vide judgment in the case of Sankalp Charitable Trust v. Union of India, 2016 AIR(SC) 2159. No exceptions were made for any college or institution.

(2.) Since such a declaration was made from the highest court of the land, under the constitutional scheme of things, every authority and citizen is duty bound to honour the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court. However, the reason for this petitioner to approach the Court is that he was denied opportunity for participation in a centralized counselling because certain private medical colleges operating in the State of Bihar ignored the directive of the Apex Court and improvised their own means and mechanism for taking admission into their colleges. This, in the opinion of this Court, was a reprehensible conduct on the part of the private medical colleges, which are before this Court as respondents. They have offered explanation that in terms of a previous direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered in the case of Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka, 2003 6 SCC 697, there is a committee headed by a former High Court Judge under whose supervision they have been conducting examinations and also providing admission and it is the same procedure which has been followed even this time after due consultation with the committee and the State of Bihar.

(3.) In the opinion of this Court, such a mechanism has no place within the framework of law as it exists now. The Islamic Academy case was rendered in a situation where there was no unified direction by the Hon'ble Apex Court for conduct of examination and admission. Whatever arrangement was made after the Islamic Academy case have lost its meaning and effect. The Court must also observe that from the affidavits and the material brought on record by the State of Bihar, it appears that they have also played into the hands of the private medical colleges and the reason for doing so is not required to be spelt out in one to many words for the reason that the stakes of financial kind in grant of such admission is widely known.