The Supreme Court has directed a medical college based in Maharashtra to pay penalty on INR 20 lac. to the students for denying admissions. These students were denied admission to the college "illegally" and "wrongly" six years ago. The court has directed the college to deposit the money within three months with the Pravesh Niyantran Samiti (PNS).
PNS is a government body which oversees and regulates admissions in medical colleges. These students were denied admissions in the 2012-13 academic year in MBBS and BDS courses.
A bench of justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit spared the college, Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra from derecognition as the college agreed to pay the fine.
"As the college has shown the gesture of making payment of penalty to the 19 students, who were deprived of admission, considering the fact that several years have passed and a large number of students have passed out and are undertaking instructions in the college, it would not be appropriate in the facts of the case that once monetary penalty has been imposed to withdraw the recognition... And to dis-affiliate the appellant college," the bench said.
The court also directed PNS to send a compliance to the apex court. The court also provided the relief to the less meritorious students by not canceling their admissions. These students were admitted to the college instead of the deserving candidates for the sheer purpose of profit.