No sympathy for students entering medical college by backdoor: SC

The Supreme Court has said no sympathy can be shown to students who have entered a medical college through the backdoor.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari dismissed a review petition against its July 20, 2020 judgement by Glocal Medical College.

The top court had then upheld the Medical Council of India's decision to discharge 67 students of MBBS course as they were found to have secured admission through private counselling despite notification by the Uttar Pradesh government for common counselling.

A group of MBBS students sought a review of the order, saying they had cleared the NEET and were admitted to the course by the medical college. They also claimed to have cleared first and second year examinations.

The counsel for the MCI as well as the Uttar Pradesh government submitted that the petitioners were admitted by backdoor entry and their admission was the result of collusion with the college. They also said the petitioners were aware private counselling was not permissible in law.

Agreeing to their contention, the bench said, "It was not at all permissible for the Glocal Medical College to have conducted private counselling. The admissions which were conducted through the said private counselling cannot be termed as anything else but per se illegal."

"Though we have all the sympathies with the students, we will not be in a position to do anything to protect the admissions, which were done in a patently illegal manner," the bench added.

The students cannot be said to be ignorant about the notification issued by the Uttar Pradesh government against private counselling, the court further said.

The court also expressed surprise at how the results of the students were declared for the first year MBBS examination, how they were admitted in the second year and how they cleared the second year examination, even though MCI had discharged the students on January 27, 2017.