Madras HC rejects dental students transfer plea for transfer of college

Chennai: A dental college student's plea seeking migration from one college to another college in the middle of the semester as a matter of right has been rejected by the Madras High Court. The reason for rejection by the court is her plea not falling within the stipulated guidelines for transfer by the Dental Council of India.

Justice S. Vaidyanathan, responding to a petitioner Nisshanthi writ upheld the order of Dental Council of India (DCI). The petitioner had sought the quashing of an order dated November 22, 2017, by the High Court wherein the DCI had refused permission of migration to her to Sri Venkateswara Dental College, Puducherry from Mahe Institute of Dental Science & Hospital in Chalakkara, Mahe.

The order stated that as per DCI norms, migration was permitted from a recognized dental college to another recognized one by DCI at the beginning of the second year BDS course only; on the compassionate ground - the death of supporting guardian or disturbed conditions as declared by the government in the college area.

The petitioner in her writ for reason for seeking transfer had said that her mother was unwell and hence, her plea called for attention. She further added that Sri Venkateswara College had 14 vacancies, therefore, a transfer permission on the part of the DCI should not be difficult coming.

Justice Vaidyanathan however, rejecting her plea said her writ for migration on compassionate grounds, lacked the prescribed criteria. The further grounds of rejection as stated by the court were that if the petitioner did not fulfill any other conditions and if the 'unwell mother contention of the petitioner was accepted, there was all likelihood that other students may also knock the DCI doors after getting a no objection certificate from their original college of study, to the one they wanted to join . This the jury felt was likely to create an upheaval in the functioning of colleges reports Deccan Chronicle.

The judge during the course of hearing stated that as long as BDS course regulations published in the Gazette dated September 10, 2017, approved by the Central government under the Dentists Act, were in force and were more or less similar to the DCI regulations, the petitioner could not as a matter of right, seek for transfer/migration.