Redeeming the hopes of 50 MBBS students of 2014-15 batch of Faridabad-based Gold Field Institute of Medical Science and Research, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday held them entitled to admission in Government medical colleges.
The institute was shut down in 2015 after it was not granted recognition by Medical Council of India, but the students had got admissions before the closure.
Directing the State to adjust the students in other Government medical colleges, Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia said the students would be entitled to admission on the strength of their merit and would be admitted on proportionate basis. The High Court has set a time line of 10 days for the State to act on the directions.
Justice Sandhawalia further clarified the benefit of fee deposited and classes attended by the students in their earlier college would be given to them in the subsequent colleges, “so that they will not have to face any difficulty regarding deposit of fee or have shortage of lectures”. The High Court also directed the State to increase the infrastructure in the medical colleges, on account of additional students.
The orders of the HC came on a bunch of petitions filed against the Union of India and other respondents by Komal Poswal and other petitioners. The students had challenged public notice dated May 22, whereby they were to be adjusted on a proportionate ratio as per sanctioned intake in both Government and private medical colleges.
The petitioner contended that they had completed their first year in the institute before it was closed down. Subsequently, the public notice was issued whereby 100 students for academic session 2014-15 were to be adjusted in the six medical colleges in Haryana, including private colleges.
The first 64 students were to be admitted to Government medical colleges, while the remaining 36 in private medical colleges. The petitioners being in merit list from serial number 51 to 64, were entitled for admission to government medical colleges. But during the counselling, admission was granted to first 50 students in government medical colleges.
Thereafter, the counselling was stopped and the petitioners were informed that they were to be admitted to private colleges. Arguing for the petitioners Senior Advocate Puneet Bali told the court that all 100 seats in the institute were government quota and were to be charged as per the government rates.
The corrigendum, vide which 50 students were to be adjusted against government seats and balance in private colleges, was unjustified.