GMCH Sector 32: PG Medical Aspirant denied admission, HC sends notice

Chandigarh: Government Medical College and Hospital,(GMCH), Sector 32 has been issued a notice by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in response to a petition filed by a PG aspirant who was denied admission on grounds of ineligibility in an MD/MS Course 2018.

Dr Chahat Bhatia, the petitioner who moved the High Court has stated in her plea that despite enjoying a Chandigarh domicile, she has been declared ineligible by GMCH. The matter is slated to come up for hearing on April 18. At the previous hearing, it was upheld that the petitioner could not be denied admission, as she enjoyed a Chandigarh domicile and thereby, benefit under the UT pool quota.

The list declaring the petitioner ineligible for admission to the MD/MS (state quota) course 2018, was published on March 26, 2018, and carried the comment: "MBBS not from Chandigarh".

The arguments presented in court included the petitioner having done matriculation from Chandigarh, scoring 580 marks in NEET PG 2018, with a 91.42 percentile. It was also stated that the total number of seats for admission for the year 2018, was 125 and fell under the category of All India Quota and UT pool.

According to the prospectus guidelines, under the UT Pool, only those who have cleared MBBS from a medical institution situated in UT and are living in the Union Territory can avail the benefit of getting admission under UT pool quota, reported TOI.

It was revealed in court that the petitioner who had ranked 11063 in the All India list, had been superseded by candidates with lower ranks, through the application of a rule- that all seats were for candidates who had passed their MBBS from a medical institution established in Chandigarh.

The ruling, however, is contrary to that laid down by courts in various judgements, whereby, 100 percent institutional reservation is not permissible adds TOI.