Rajasthan HC Warns Private Institutes To 'Desist From Giving Irregular Admissions', Fines Three Dental Colleges ₹7.5 Lakh Per Student

Adopting the principle of equity Rajasthan High Court regularized the admission of certain medical students admitted "irregularly" by three medical colleges in 2018-19 and 2019-2020, subject to the students paying fine of Rs. 1 Lakh. At the same time Justice Dinesh Mehta imposed a cost of Rs. 7.50 Lakhs per student on Vyas Dental College, Eklavya Dental College and Maharaja Ganga Singh Dental College for giving irregular admissions, which is to be paid by July 31. Warning private colleges it said:"It is high time when the Court should warn the private colleges to desist from giving irregular admissions. The order instant has been passed being guided by the equity in light of peculiar facts and considering that the contentious admissions were given 5-6 years back. However, in future if any such irregular admission is given by the colleges involved in the present writ petitions or by any other college, the DCI (Dental Council of India) and RUHS shall take stern action. They should not consider end of their duties by imposition of fine - they should withdraw or revoke the recognition granted to such colleges in accordance with law, obviously after following principles of natural justice". BackgroundThe Court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by medical students seeking regularization of their admissions. The petitioners majorly contained two sets of disputes. The first set of disputes involved three petitioners who took admission in Vyas Dental College, however, their names were not uploaded on the official website of Dental Council of India (“DCI”) by the college. Subsequently, DCI asked the college to discharge the petitioners, but despite such communication, the petitioners were not informed.It was the case of the counsel for the petitioners that for such inadvertence on part of the college, the petitioners could not be blamed, nor could their admissions be cancelled, especially when their qualification and eligibility was not in dispute. The second set of disputes was in relation to the rest of the petitioners who did not get themselves registered with the Counseling Board, and without such registration, they were granted admissions by the respondent colleges. It was argued on behalf of the petitioners that it might be due to adolescence or lack of legal acumen that the petitioners got admitted without following the procedure, being oblivious of the consequences. It was further submitted that there was no malafide intention on part of the petitioners since their eligibility was not in doubt.On the contrary, it was submitted on behalf of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (“RUHS”) and DCI that the respondent colleges had given incessant admissions to the students, contrary to law and the norms set by DCI. It was argued that even if the Court took a lenient view towards the students, the respondent colleges should be penalized for the irregularities. FindingsAfter hearing the contentions, the Court opined that the request for regularization of admission by the petitioners required sympathetic consideration on the principle of equity. The Court observed that, “The petitioners are young people of 20-22 years of age and are yet to begin their life. If at this stage, the order passed by the DCI of discharging their admissions is allowed to be given effect to, the result would be irreconcilable – these young students will be back to square one. Not only 5-6 years of their prime youth would go in vain, but also their fee and money would be shredded into the drains. By now, they must have become age barred to get admissions in any other courses. Their 5 years of education and experience which they have obtained will be rendered nugatory.”In this background, the Court ruled regularization of their admissions with a token fine of Rs. 1 lakh. It was stated that their example shall serve as a scarecrow for future students to remain cautious and careful. In relation to the respondent colleges, the Court stated that they ought to have remained more vigilant, and such erring colleges could not be left scot-free. Their penalization was required for the unlawful gain derived by them by defrauding students and giving them admissions. The Court made a reference to a Supreme Court case of Rajendra Prasad Mathur Vs. Karnataka University & Ors., that dealt with similar case of irregular admissions by the colleges and reached similar decision.In this light, a fine of Rs. 7.50 Lakhs per student was imposed on all the respondent colleges and it was held that in case the same was not paid, the Counseling Board shall not reflect their names in the list of eligible colleges. The Court further ruled that this order was given in light of principle of equity and also the fact that the irregular admissions were given 5-6 years back. However, in future, stern action shall be taken by DCI and RUHS against such irregular admissions, that shall not be limited to imposition of fine but shall extend to withdrawing or...

Rajasthan HC Warns Private Institutes To 'Desist From Giving Irregular Admissions', Fines Three Dental Colleges ₹7.5 Lakh Per Student

Nupur Agrawal

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