Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 5 AUG: A petition was today filed in the Supreme Court seeking a review of its judgment scrapping the single common entrance test (NEET) for admissions to MBBS, BDS and post-graduate courses in all medical colleges.
The plea filed NGO ‘Sankalp’, through lawyer Prashant Bhushan, has sought a review of the 18 July majority (2-1) verdict of the apex court that had quashed the notifications for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on the ground that it violated the rights of state and private institutions to administer such institutions.
Seeking the review on the grounds including that of rampant corruption in the absence of NEET, the plea said the verdict also needed to be re-looked as there was “no discussion at all among the judges before delivering it, which is apparent from the minority judgement itself”.
“In fact, in the very second para of the judgment, it has been observed ‘as the learned Chief Justice is to retire within a few days, I have to be quick and therefore, also short. Prior to preparation of our draft judgments, we had no discussion on the subject due to paucity of time’, It is respectfully submitted that this observation in the minority judgment makes it all the more necessary that the aforesaid judgement is reviewed,” it said.
The judgment quashing the NEET was delivered by a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir (now retired) by a 2-1 division.
The view of the then CJI was shared by Mr Justice Vikramjit Sen, while Mr Justice A R Dave had dissented and upheld the NEET saying the policy was “legal” as it would stop corrupt practice which enabled undeserving students to get admissions by paying huge capitation fees or donations.
“In fact, one of the main considerations of having one common entrance test conducted by Medical Council of India is to check the malaise of money-making business in the admission process by selling their seats in crores, which has been going on for last so many years in private colleges,” it said.
The petition said “one of the main objectives of having NEET was to check rampant corruption/backdoor entries of non-deserving candidates to this highly skilled and respected profession,” the petition said while referring to a recent sting operation on how private colleges sell seats in medical colleges in return for huge money.
“The majority judgment completely erred in observing that there has not been any complaint of maladministration in the admission process in these private colleges.”
The review petition also said the minority view in the judgment rightly held that if the NEET is conducted under the supervision of the apex professional body, no extraneous and irrelevant factors like caste, creed, social or economic standing would come into play.
The judgment was sought to be reviewed on the ground that it failed to appreciate that a common entrance test can by no stretch of imagination curtail the fundamental right to carry own profession guaranteed in the Constitution.