AARADHYA VIJAY Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is another but different in a series of petitions relating to admission MBBS 2018. A peculiar issue arises before this court where the petitioner is not agitating his exclusion from admission but having been admitted to the MBBS course in the Government Medical College, Kota in MBBS 2018 in the first round of counseling on the basis of his merit, following his subsequent admission into AIIMS, Raipur is aggrieved of being denied the return of his original documents even while the deadline to report at AIIMS, Raipur for being admitted into MBBS 2018 there expires on 25.08.2018. It has been submitted that on the respondent( Government Medical College, Kota being requested to return the original documents relating to the petitioner's eligibility for admission to MBBS, no response has been forthcoming. Hence this petition with a prayer that the respondent-Government Medical College, Kota be directed to immediately return the original documents of the petitioner, such that the petitioner is not deprived of admission for MBBS 2018 at a prestigious institute i.e. AIIMS, Raipur.

(2.) Reply to the petition has been filed. The defence of the respondent-Government Medical College, Kota lies in the instructions circulated to the candidates seeking admission to the State quota in the State of Rajasthan in the information booklet by NEET (UG) Medical and Dental Admission/Counseling Board, 2018 where it has been provided that no candidate would be allowed to resign from the State quota after the cut off date for exit with forfeiture of second round. Defence has also taken in the revised notification dated 09.08.2018 issued by the Chairman, NEET (UG) Medical and Dental Admission/Counseling Board, 2018 which provides for certain financial obligations for exiting admissions to a medical college following counseling. It has been submitted that if the petitioner were to be allowed to exit the Government Medical College, Kota the resultant vacancy may be a uncompensated national loss.

(3.) Per contra, Mr. Narendra Kumar Sharma, counsel for the petitioner submitted that the condition in the information booklet for NEET (UG) Medical and Dental Admission/Counseling Board, 2018 providing that no candidate would be allowed to resign from the State quota after cut off date for exit with forfeiture of second round of counseling is incomprehensible and makes little sense. Such a confused and ambiguous condition cannot be allowed to work as a prohibition to deny the petitioner's right to pursue his study in the MBBS course at a prestigious institution of his choice. The petitioner is not a prisoner of any college to which he is admitted and has a right even thereafter to choose any other institution to pursue the course. That right cannot be taken away casually except by law and no such law obtains. Mr. Narendra Kumar Sharma further submitted that even the revised notification dated 09.08.2018 issued by the NEET (UG) Medical and Dental Admission/Counseling Board, 2018 only provides for a cut off date with forfeiture of certain amounts on a student exiting a college to which he has been earlier admitted in the MBBS course. He submitted that contrarily the information booklet relevant to NEET (UG) Medical and Dental Admission/Counseling Board, 2018 itself visualizes the possibility of a candidate admitted to a Government Medical College in the State quota being entitled to exit the college after admission under the pain of payment of Rs. 5 lacs under the bond executed by the candidate at the time of his admission. Mr. Narendra Kumar Sharma submitted that the petitioner is ready and willing to pay the bond amount of Rs. 5 lacs to the State Government for exiting the MBBS 2018 course in Government Medical College, Kota for reasons of his admission to AIIMS, Raipur.