The Gujarat High Court recently affirmed the annulment of the MBBS admission of a student, the son of a Panipuri seller from Uttar Pradesh, on a reserved seat due to the determination that he did not qualify as a member of the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) in the State of Gujarat.
Despite the student, Rathod, meeting the eligibility criteria for admission in the general category, the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee upheld the decision.
The ruling by the division bench came on March 26, approximately two months after a single-judge had reinstated the student’s admission, acknowledging his family background and applauding his achievement.
Although the single-judge had acknowledged that Rathod would have been eligible for admission in the general category in many medical colleges,
“There is no question of considering you in the open category. Once someone has claimed the benefit of reservation, he has to stand by that.”
In September 2023, Alpeshkumar Ramsinh Rathod’s medical admission was revoked upon the discovery that his Teli subcaste, to which he belonged, was not recognized as part of the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) in Gujarat. This determination stemmed from the fact that Rathod’s parents hailed from Uttar Pradesh, where the caste is classified under the Other Backward Class category.
While a single-judge had reinstated Rathod’s admission at the Government Medical College, Vadodara, the division bench later overturned this decision. The division bench emphasised that Rathod had undoubtedly secured admission based on a certificate that could not have been legitimately issued.
“Once this certificate is cancelled, your admission goes automatically. No one can save your admission. Sympathy is not a ground to save admission in this kind of case,” it said.
The division bench declined to entertain the notion that the seat would have remained unfilled otherwise and that the student had already completed nine months of study before the cancellation. Despite arguments regarding the student’s merit and the encouragement provided by the single-judge, the Court asserted that sympathy should not influence decisions in such matters.
“This kind of hope is not to be given to anyone… this was the fallout of your own deed. You knew you did not belong to the caste, your family knew,” the Court said.
The Court also suggested that Rathod could have competed in Uttar Pradesh to get admission under the reserved category.
“You cannot get benefit [of reservation] in the State of Gujarat. Go back to the State of UP. You will get benefit over there. You compete in State of UP.”
While the counsel representing the student submitted that his father was uneducated and runs a roadside business, the court asked, “why would you go to get this certificate when you knew that you do not belong to the caste in the State of Gujarat.”
“We have to make some strong decisions, some tough decisions also but the rule of law has to prevail. This kind of indulgence in one matter gives a completely wrong signal that anybody can do it,” it told the counsel while suspecting fraud in issuance of the certificate.
Rathod, originally from Uttar Pradesh but schooled in Gujarat, hails from a family operating a Panipuri stall in Aravali district.
In the NEET-UG exam of 2022, he achieved a commendable score of 613 out of 720 marks, securing the 15,423rd rank nationwide.
Benefiting from a caste certificate issued in 2018, Rathod obtained admission under the SEBC category. However, his admission was revoked in September 2023 due to the invalidation of his caste certificate.
Challenging this decision, Rathod approached the High Court. Justice Nikhil S Kariel, in a judgment rendered on January 29, sided with Rathod, asserting that revoking his admission post the completion of the admission process, with no prospect of the vacancy being filled by another eligible candidate, would only result in the seat remaining vacant.
“Since seats in all colleges where the petitioner could have got admission are filled in and since the admission process is long over, the petitioner in spite of scoring very high marks in the NEET (UG-2022) entrance exam would not get admission in MBBS Course,” the judge had said.
The Single-Judge had further taken note of the financial condition of the candidate’s family and decided to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction in the case.
“That a son of a person who is engaged in selling Panipuris having reached the stage of admission to an MBBS course on merits is in itself a commendable feat and whereas further considering this aspect from the view point of the fact that the marks secured by the petitioner were so much sufficient that except for three colleges who had been entitled to admission in all other colleges in the State of Gujarat, clearly point out to the fact that the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court is required to be exercised in favour of the petitioner so as to ensure that he has a chance to complete his MBBS Course which seat otherwise would remain vacant for the entire term.”
The Admission Committee For Professional Medical Educational Courses contested the ruling in an appeal.
In its decision on the appeal, the division bench scrutinized the utilization of extraordinary discretionary authority by the single-judge, expressing concern that such actions could perpetuate illegality by unfairly granting advantages to an ineligible individual.
“The decision to save admission of the petitioner merely by the fact that he has attained high marks in NEET examination and could have secured admission in open category in any of the colleges in the State of Gujarat cannot be a reason to secure his admission in the college concerned,” the Court opined.
The Court also said no fault can be attributed either to the Admission Committee or any authority of the college concerned.
“The place which the respondent/original petitioner has secured in the medical college has resulted in denying the opportunity of securing admission to an otherwise eligible candidate belonging to the SEBC category in the State of Gujarat,” it added.
The Court also noted that none of the student’s family members had an SEBC certificate in Gujarat.
“The caste comes from parents. You are born in a caste. You don’t acquire caste otherwise. If your parents did not have an SEBC certificate in Gujarat, you could not have got it,” Justice Agarwal told the counsel representing the student during the hearing.
