A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K. Vinod Chandran has ruled in favor of allowing AYUSH students who had not appeared for the NEET UG-2019 examination to receive their degrees. While acknowledging that these admissions were technically invalid, the Court emphasized that withholding the results would cause “immense hardship” to the students.
Case Background
The case, Ebtresham Khatoon v. Union of India & Ors. [SLP (C) No. 6658/2021 & SLP (C) No. 6396/2021], arose from a controversy regarding the eligibility criteria for undergraduate AYUSH courses. The petitioners, undergraduate students, claimed they had not been properly informed about the mandatory requirement to qualify NEET UG-2019 for admission. Their admissions were initially upheld by a Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court but were later struck down by the Division Bench, which ruled that adequate public notice had been given.
Important Legal Issues
The Supreme Court examined two key legal questions:
Whether students who had not appeared for NEET UG-2019 were eligible for admission based on merit selection by colleges.
Whether students who had already completed their coursework should be denied their degrees due to an admission irregularity.
Court’s Observations on Legal Issues
The Supreme Court noted that while the requirement for NEET qualification was a valid legal prerequisite, the students’ lack of awareness and the subsequent completion of their courses presented an exceptional circumstance. The Court stated:
“It is true that admission to candidates who had not appeared in the NEET examination could not have been given by the College, yet as of now these students have completed their course and to withhold the exam results or their Degree will cause immense hardship to them.”
Additionally, the Court observed:
“The order dated 19th April, 2021, passed by this Court in SLP (C) No. 6396 of 2021, hereby stands vacated.”
Decision of the Court
Taking a pragmatic approach, the Supreme Court ruled that students who had completed their AYUSH courses should not be penalized for procedural lapses in admission. The Court lifted its previous stay order preventing the announcement of results and directed that the degrees be conferred upon the students. While underscoring the necessity for regulatory compliance in admissions, the Court sought to balance legal requirements with fairness, ensuring that students who had dedicated years to their studies were not unduly penalized.
The special leave petitions were disposed of, bringing clarity and relief to affected students while reinforcing the importance of proper admission protocols in future cases.
