Notice about the NRI admissions in MBBS and BDS

Chandigarh, 2 Oct:

After Two days a Single Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed a public notice for filling vacant seats in MBBS and BDS courses under the NRI category on basis of qualifying 10+2 examination marks, a Division Bench today issued notice of motion to the State of Punjab and other respondents on an appeal against the order.

The appeal, placed before the Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Amol Rattan Singh, was filed by Jagraj Singh Dosanjh and five other students who had not cleared the common entrance test but became eligible for selection for NRI category seats on the basis of the 12th standard examination.

Arguing on their behalf, senior advocate Anand Chhibbar contended all six appellants fulfilled necessary eligibility requirements; and had obtained eligibility and equivalency certificates for “foreign Indian students” seeking admissions to MBBS course for 2015-16 session against NRI quota seats.

Referring to Punjab Private Health Sciences Educational Institutes (Regulations of Admission, Fixation of Fees and Making of Reservation) Act, Chhibbar said that admission to all categories of seats in private health sciences institutes, except in case of foreign Indian students, were to be made on the basis of inter-se merit of the candidates appearing in the Common Entrance Test.

As such, candidates seeking admissions to MBBS course against NRI quota seats were statutorily not required to appear in the Common Entrance Test. Counsel appearing for Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, on the other hand, told the court that 102 seats were for NRI quota out of the total seats advertised for MBBS and BDS courses.

As many as 64 candidates applied for the seats, but 52 appeared for PMET. Out of them, 17 cleared the test and all stood admitted. As such, 85 NRI seats remained unfilled. Against the seats, general category students have been admitted. The case will now come up for hearing on October 5.