Noting that the ratio of doctors to the population is very low in India, the Bombay High Court refused to cancel the MBBS admission of a doctor, who gained her entry into a top Mumbai college under the OBC-Non-Creamy Layer Certificate based on false information.
A division bench of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain observed that the petitioner has completed her MBBS course and said that it would be improper to withdraw her qualification at this stage, “moreso when the Petitioner has qualified as a doctor”, Live Law reported.
The HC said, “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.”
However, the division bench cancelled the Non-Creamy Layer Certificate, reclassifying her admission to the Open Category. The doctor has been directed to pay the difference in her fees along with a penalty of Rs 50,000, which was imposed on her for false information.
It was observed that although there is a high level of competition for admissions in Medical colleges and the courses’ are also highly expensive, the student’s decision to resort to unfair means is not justified and neither is her parents action to be a part of it.
The Bombay HC was hearing a writ petition filed by the doctor challenging her admission’s cancellation on the grounds of the invalid NCL Certificate.
WHAT HAPPENED | THE CASE SO FAR
The doctor took admission in the MBBS course at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital in Sion in the 2012-13 batch under the OBC category, Live Law reported. This was based on her NCL Certificate.
However, following a plea seeking inspection of such admissions, an inquiry was launched into students who took admission under the OBC category.
The Enquiry Committee investigated the doctor’s father, who had obtained the certificate. It was found that there were some inconsistencies in his statements regarding his income and marital status.
Not only did he falsify his marital status — in reality he had divorced his wife in 2008 — he also misrepresented her employment status. His wife, said to have no income, was in fact working at the Corporation.
Subsequently, her Certificate was cancelled by the college authorities in October 2013 and her admission was striked out in February 2014.
Days after, the petitioner moved the High Court and challenged the cancellation of her admission. Though the court had granted her interim relief, allowing her to continue the course, it limited the benefits she received under the OBC category.
In her petition, she pointed at the completion of her MBBS course internship and a Diploma course in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
She argued that according to the Government Resolution of October 14, 2008, her father’s income fell below the given limit for the Certificate. She asserted that the information provided by her father was accurate, challenging the cancellation if her Certificate and admission.
Reportedly, the court observed that the Resolution does not specify considering only one parent’s income for the Certificate, it presses on taking into account the salary of both parents.
The court also noted that the petitioner’s father’s claim of his marital status, divorce and cohabitation were self-contradictory.
Therefore, it said that the NCL Certificate was based on false information. “If the medical profession is based on a foundation of false information then certainly it would be a blot on the noble profession. In our view, for that matter the foundation of any student should not be built on the basis of false information and suppression of the fact,” the Court was quoted as saying by Live Law.
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