MBBS Counselling at GMCH Chandigarh 32 to resume as Supreme Court sets aside HC order

Chandigarh: With the Supreme Court setting aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court's stay order on MBBS admissions, the halted counselling at Government Medical College and Hospital 32 (GMCH Chandigarh) is going to resume from July 23rd.

Now MBBS candidates who have completed 12th standard from any school in Chandigarh will get UT quota benefit in admission in the current academic session while 11th and 12th of the following year and students in 10th, 11th and 12th in 2021 only benefit in MBBS admission under UT quota.

The 3 judge bench of the Supreme Court has also issued the directive to the UT Administration on the completion of the counselling for MBBS admission within ten days.

In the July 4 orders, the HC bench comprising Justice Daya Chaudhary and Justice Sudhir Mittal had quashed the section of the domicile criteria set by the Union Territory (UT) Chandigarh Administration which mandated that in the year 2019, the eligibility criteria for aspirants seeking admission to MBBS course would be only 10+2, in 2020 it will be 10+1 & 10+2 and in 2021 it shall be 10th, 10+1 & 10+2 from Chandigarh based schools.

The high court had observed that providing a preference for students domiciled in a particular State is constitutional.

…A window has been kept open for students from the neighbouring states to seek admission in Chandigarh only after passing Class XII examination from a school situated in the UT…

… This violates the rights of students domiciled in Chandigarh as such students are subjected to an unfair competition from students belonging to the neighbouring states whereas students domiciled in the neighbouring states are not subjected to any such competition from students of Chandigarh…

…The impugned policy decision does ensure that students who have applied in other States cannot apply to a medical institution in U.T. Chandigarh, however, for the Academic Session 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, it still permits students who have not studied upto class X in Chandigarh, to take admission in U.T. Chandigarh, exposing the students domiciled in U.T. Chandigarh to additional competition.

Medical Dialogues had last year reported about the case where the HC held as "arbitrary" the condition in the residence clause which allows 'students even from outside states to become eligible after passing class XII examination from institutes recognized by UT Chandigarh without insisting on the residence as an essential eligibility condition.'

Read Also: MBBS Admissions: HC junks Chandigarh UT quota as arbitrary, slams non-inclusion of residence clause

After the HC passed its July 4^th order directing UT Administration to make admissions to the MBBS course in GMC Chandigarh, 30 to 35 students went to the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict.

Read Also: MBBS Admissions at GMC Chandigarh 32: Domicile Criteria matter reaches Supreme Court

Now, with the SC orders, MBBS aspirants who have done 12th from any Chandigarh based school will get UT quota privilege while 11th and 12th of the following year and students in 10th, 11th and 12th in 2021 only benefit in MBBS admission under UT quota.

Confirming the development, Pankaj Jain, UT senior standing counsel, told the TOI that the Supreme Court has upheld the criteria prescribed by the administration in its prospectus for admission in the current academic session.

Dr BS Chavan, Director-Principal, GMCH, informed Tribune that the Supreme Court had directed to conduct the counselling within 10 days for the 85 per cent seats under the state quota.

Meanwhile, aggrieved over the decision of the apex court, parents of the local MBBS aspirants said they would file a review petition in the Supreme Court after getting a copy of the order, adds Tribune.

In pursuance of the SC orders, the GMCH administration has announced that to conduct the first counselling for admission to the MBBS course under the state quota seats on July 23. Official notification is attached below: