Caste Validity Certificates Obtained After Admission: Bombay High Court Orders One Time Regularisation Against Reserved Seats

The Bombay High Court recently regularized the admissions of students in various health science institutes as a one-time measure. The Admission Regulation Authority (ARA) had cancelled their admissions under reserved categories as they did not have validity certificates at the time of admission.A division bench of Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Sanjay A Deshmukh sitting at Aurangabad also imposed costs on the institutes for admitting the students against the rules and not communicating ARA’s decision to the students.“…the admissions were de-hors the rules. It also cannot be lost sight of the fact that the Managements made the parents believe that the admissions would be regularized after the validity certificates are granted by the Scrutiny Committee…The impugned orders cancelling the admissions of these Petitioners are quashed and set aside and their admissions shall stand regularized, as a onetime measure...By way of costs, the Managements of the Colleges in which these students have been admitted, shall deposit an amount of Rs.50,000/- per student, within thirty days, in this Court” the court held.The court partly allowed a batch of writ petitions by the students seeking regularization of their admissions and imposed cost of Rs. 50,000/- per student admitted against rules on the following institutes –DKMM Homeopathic Medical College and HospitalVamanrao Ithape Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital SVP College of Pharmacy Mother Hawwa College of Nursing Mauli Nursing CollegeThe court further cautioned the college managements against recovering this amount directly or indirectly from the students.The college managements admitted nine students on the claim of belonging to the reserve category, but none of them had validity certificate on the dates of their admissions. The students have since acquired the validity certificates.Review petitions against the admission cancellations by ARA were dismissed. However, the college managements did not cancel the admissions of the students. The students then approached the High Court seeking regularisation of their admissions in various professional courses BHMS/ BAMS/ BUMS/ BPTH/B.Sc. Nursing from 2018-19.Section 4A of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Denotified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, (the Caste Certificate Verification Act, 2000) provides that candidates have to produce the validity certificate at the time of admission application. However, if the candidates don’t possess the certificate at the time of applications, they must produce proof that they have applied for a validity certificate. The students must produce the validity certificate at the time of admissionARA contended that the students’ admission cannot be regularised as section 4A of the Caste Certificate Verification Act is not challenged.It further submitted that the cancellation was communicated to the institutions within 3 to 4 months of the admissions. The student pursued their courses knowing that their admissions have been rejected, as the college managements assured them that they can just seek regularization from the High Court.However, the students contended that the college managements did not tell them about the admission cancellations.The court noted that section 4(A)(2)(ii) of the Caste Certificate Verification Act has not been challenged and has not been held arbitrary by any Court. The Information Brochure issued by the Common Entrance Test Cell, the authority empowered to regulate admissions to Health Science Courses in the State, mandates that a student cannot be admitted to the college without a validity certificate, the court noted.The court further noted that in some of the cases, the managements did not even tell the students about the cancellation of their admissions until the university denied them permission to appear for exams.The court noted that with the admission of the present students, they are exempted paying regular fees which is reimbursed by the state government. Further, some candidates, who have lower ranks than the present petitioners but had validity certificate may have lost their admissions due to the admissions of the present petitioners against the rules. This is sufficient to impose costs on the institutes, the court concluded.Case no. – Writ Petition No. 1771 of 2023 and connected casesCase Title – Areeb Hasan Ansari Najeeb Hasan Ansari v. State of Maharashtra and connected casesCitation: 2023 LiveLaw (Bom) 223Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

Caste Validity Certificates Obtained After Admission: Bombay High Court Orders One Time Regularisation Against Reserved Seats

Amisha Shrivastava

The Court also imposed costs on colleges for non-compliance of statute.

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