The Supreme Court of India recently regularized Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degrees for students admitted to 11 private dental colleges in Rajasthan during the 2016-17 academic year . These students gained admission after the colleges and the state government granted unauthorized relaxation in NEET percentile requirements. A bench of Justices J K Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi, while providing relief, imposed heavy financial penalties on the colleges and the state for flouting admission norms.
Student Obligations
To ensure ‘complete justice,’ invoking Article 142 of the Constitution of India , the Court mandated conditions for the students. All students benefiting from this ruling must commit to providing pro-bono service in Rajasthan. This service period can cumulatively last up to two years during their lifetime.
This service applies during exceptional circumstances like natural calamities, man-made disasters/accidents, or health emergencies. These emergencies must be declared by competent authorities in Rajasthan. Each student must file an undertaking with the Registrar (Judicial), Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, within eight weeks . Failure to file this affidavit will result in notification to the Supreme Court for further directions.
The Court emphasized this regularization aims to save the students’ efforts, time, and resources. It explicitly stated this decision is specific to these facts and shall not be treated as a precedent for other cases.
Penalties Imposed
The Supreme Court imposed significant financial penalties on the institutions. Each of the 11 erring private dental colleges must deposit Rs 10 crore . The Rajasthan state government must deposit Rs 10 lakh . Both amounts are payable to the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority within eight weeks from the judgment date.
The Court expressed strong displeasure regarding the undermined standards of medical education. It found the colleges committed ‘blatant illegality’ and ‘willful violation’ of the 2007 Regulations . They admitted students beyond the prescribed 10+5 percentile. The state of Rajasthan also acted ‘without any authority of law’ by granting relaxations. Furthermore, the state failed to timely inform colleges of decisions from the Central government and the Dental Council of India (DCI).
Fund Utilization
The Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority will manage the funds collected from the penalties. The Authority will invest the amount in a short-term fixed deposit account with a nationalized bank, including auto-renewal. The interest accrued from this deposit will fund various social welfare initiatives.
These initiatives include the maintenance, upgradation, and improvement of One Stop Centres, Nari Niketans, Old Age Homes, and Child Care Institutions established by the Rajasthan government. A committee of five judges from the Rajasthan High Court, including at least one woman judge, will advise on the effective utilization of this interest amount.
Background: Admission Irregularities
The irregularities involved students from 11 private dental colleges, part of the Federation of Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Rajasthan . A 2016 Supreme Court verdict established that admissions to MBBS and BDS courses in all medical colleges, government and private, must be based solely on NEET merit.
The minimum qualifying percentile for BDS admission is 50th for unreserved category candidates. It is 40th percentile for SC/ST/OBC candidates. For candidates with locomotory disability of the lower limbs, the minimum is 45th percentile.
The 2007 Regulations permit reduction of percentiles only when an insufficient number of candidates secure the prescribed minimum marks. This power is vested solely in the Central government, to be exercised in consultation with the DCI. The Court explicitly stated no other authority, including state governments, can undertake such a reduction.