BOARD OF GOVERNORS IN SUPERSESSION OF MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA versus DR. PRIYAMBADA SHARMA & OTHERS

Citation: [2022] 14 S.C.R. 997 · Decided: 17-10-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: AJAY RASTOGI · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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BOARD OF GOVERNORS IN SUPERSESSION OF MEDICAL
COUNCIL OF INDIA
v.
DR. PRIYAMBADA SHARMA & OTHERS
(Civil Appeal No (s). 7534 of 2022)
OCTOBER 17, 2022
[AJAY RASTOGI AND C. T. RAVIKUMAR, JJ.]
Education/Educational institutions: Medical admission –
NEET-PG course – Time schedule fixed for admission to the medical
colleges, last date not to be extended after 31st May – After the
admission/counselling process was over on 31st May, 2019,
approximately 153 seats remained vacant in State Quota of the
postgraduate medical seats for the academic year 2019-20 –
Respondent-students failed to secure admission to postgraduate
medical seat because of their much lower rank in the order of merit
– Writ petition by the respondents that although the final round of
counselling on 31st May, 2019 is over, the postgraduate seats for
academic session 2019-20 are still available/lying vacant and they
may be considered for admission in the postgraduate medical course
against the said vacant seats – Single Judge of the High Court by
interim orders directed the appellant to grant provisional admissions
to the students in postgraduate medical courses by ignoring the
cutoff date-31st May and also ignoring the principle of merit, and
these interim orders were later made absolute – In appeal before
this Court, the interim orders as also the final order passed by the
High Court, stayed – Held: Time schedule for admission to the
postgraduate medical courses must be followed strictly leaving no
discretion to any authority to permit admissions over the cutoff date
under schedule for admission to postgraduate medical courses-31st
May – Interim orders passed by the High Court which were later
made absolute are not legally sustainable – Respondents participated
in the second round of counselling but failed to get any seat in the
postgraduate medical course because of lower rank in order of
merit and by interim orders, the provisional admissions were granted
to them ignoring the principle of merit which cannot be accepted –
Furthermore, no sympathy can be shown to such students, and
despite the stay order passed by this Court, if they are allowed to
[2022] 14 S.C.R. 997
997
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 14 S.C.R.
continue in postgraduate medical courses, the same would be illegal
and such contemptuous action on the part of the authorities, cannot
be approved – Thus, the orders passed by the High Court are
quashed and set aside – Medical Council of India Postgraduate
Medical Education Regulations, 2000.
Mridul Dhar (Minor) and Another v. Union of India
and Others (2005) 2 SCC 65 : [2005] 1 SCR 380; Priya
Gupta v. State of Chhattisgarh and Others (2012) 7 SCC
433 : [2012] 5 SCR 768; Ashish Ranjan and Others v.
Union of India and Others (2016) 11 SCC 225 : 2016
(4 ) JT 127; Education Promotion Society for India
and Another v. Union of India and Others (2019) 7
SCC 38 : [2019] 8 SCR 794; Dr.  Astha Goel and Others
v. Medical Counselling Committee and Others 2022
SCC OnLine SC 734; Medical Council of India v. Ritwik
& Others 2021 SCC OnLine SC 3280 – referred to.
Case Law Reference
[2005] 1 SCR 380
referred to
Para 7
[2012] 5 SCR 768
referred to
Para 7
[2019] 8 SCR 794
referred to
Para 22
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 7533-
7534 of 2022.
From the Judgment and Orders dated 16.07.2019 and 04.11.2019
of the High Court of Calcutta Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri in W.P.A. No.
239 of 2019.
With
Civil Appeal Nos. 7535, 7536, 7537, 7538, 7539, 7540, 7541, 7542
of 2022.
Gaurav Sharma, Dhawal Mohan, Prateek Bhatia, Ms. Mitushi
Goyal, Advs. for the Appellant.
Abhratosh Majumdar, Sr. Adv., Rohit Dutta, Prabhat Kumar
Srivastava, Ms. Priyata Chakraborty, Ms. Shalini Kaul, Satish Kumar,
Puneet Jain, Ms. Rashmi Singhania, Sarad Kumar Singhania, Yogit Kamat,
Sudhansu Palo, Subhasish Bhowmick, Ms. Manisha Pandey, Advs. for
the Respondents.
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The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
RASTOGI, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. The Board of Governors of Medical Council of India (now,
“The National Medical Commission”) has filed these appeals assailing
the judgment of the High Court of Calcutta directing respondent no.2-
West Bengal University of Health Sciences to admit the respondent-
candidates initially by interim orders dated 04th June 2019, 16th July, 2019
and 30th July, 2019 passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court
of Calcutta granting provisional admission pursuant to interim orders to
the student-app
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