States can allocate leftover PG seats in medical courses: SC
New Delhi, May 25: The Supreme Court on Friday said the state governments across the country can allocate remaining seats in post graduate medical courses in private medical colleges on the basis of all-India NEET merit list.
A vacation bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Indu Malhotra also extended the applicability of its order passed for private unaided medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh to all the states.
"We appreciate the suggestion ... that similar dispensation can be followed in other states, if they so desire, while ensuring that the cut-off date of 31st May 2018 is strictly adhered to," the court said in its order on Friday.
Noting "peculiar situation" that 41.95 per cent of post-graduate medical seats in the private unaided medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh have remained vacant for the year 2018-2019, the court accepted the suggestion by Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) Pinki Anand that the state's Director General of Medical Education (DGME) be entrusted with the task to nominate candidates on the basis of all-India merit list.
The cut-off date for filling these seats was May 18.
Directing the Uttar Pradesh DGME to take immediate steps in this regard, in right earnest, the court said, "... In the larger public interest, Dr. K.K. Gupta, Director General of Medical Education, ... must take up the responsibility of allotting students from the all-India NEET merit list in order of merit to the respective colleges by 31st May 2018."
"We find this suggestion to be most appropriate and also assuages the grievance of the private medical colleges and opens up new opportunities for the aspiring candidates in the merit list who otherwise could not secure admission in other medical colleges," the order said.
Observing that the cut-off date of May 31 must be "adhered to in its letter and spirit", the court order said: "Be it noted, no request for extension of time for any reason whatsoever will be entertained hereafter."
The court made it clear that no candidate, who is already admitted in post graduate medical course, would be allowed to participate in this admission process as it would have a cascading affect on the seats that would be vacated by them.
"We make it clear that in the guise of recommending names of candidates to private colleges, the candidate who has already secured admission elsewhere cannot be permitted to resign from the college concerned to avail of the opportunity under the stated dispensation," the court said in its order.
The court also took on record the assurance by the Centre and the Medical Council of India (MCI) that its decision would be "forthwith published" in the official websites of the MCI, Medical Counselling Committee and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The court's order came on a petition by the Uttar Pradesh Unaided Medical Colleges Welfare Association.
Appearing for the MCI, counsel Gaurav Sharma said the situation had arisen because of high fee being charged by the private medical colleges.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
