In a recent decision, the Bombay High Court has refused to cancel the admission of a doctor to a Mumbai medical college, despite her gaining entry based on a false OBC-Non-Creamy Layer Certificate. The court, composed of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain, justified its decision by noting the low doctor-to-population ratio in India, which would make revoking her admission at this stage a significant loss to the nation.
According to a report, the court observed that the petitioner had already completed her MBBS course and that withdrawing her qualification now would be inappropriate. The court also highlighted the competitive nature of medical course admissions and the high expenses involved but emphasised that these factors do not justify obtaining admission through unfair means.
The Bombay High Court observed, “In our country, where the ratio of the Doctors to the population is very low, any action to withdraw the qualification obtained by the Petitioner would be national loss since the citizens of this country would be deprived of one Doctor.”
“We are conscious of high competition in admission to medical course and we are also conscious about high expenses to be incurred to enroll for the said course under the Open Category. However, that would not justify that the student should obtain the unfair means nor would it justify the action of the parents to be a part of the unfair means for getting the admission under the OBC Category”, the court added.
While the court upheld the doctor’s admission, it cancelled her Non-Creamy Layer Certificate and reclassified her admission to the Open Category. The doctor has been ordered to pay the difference in fees between the Open Category and OBC-Non-Creamy category, along with a penalty of Rs 50,000, for providing false information.
The Bombay High Court’s decision was made in response to a writ petition challenging the cancellation of the petitioner’s admission to an MBBS course due to an invalid OBC-Non-Creamy Layer Certificate. The court’s ruling underscores the importance of considering national interests and the potential consequences of revoking a medical professional’s qualifications, even in cases where admission was obtained through dishonest means.
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