It was in the year 2010, when bench of Supreme Court Justices
R V Raveendran and Patnaik attempted had strived to bring together the MCI and
CBSE on the same page for conducting NEET. The bench was convinced that a
single entrance test would save poor and meritorious students, by sparing them
the physical and financial stress of having of travel from one city to another
to appear in multiple entrance tests in the hope of bagging a MBBS, BDS or MD
seat in a college. The NEET was also welcomed by students and parents because
of transparency and the respite it offered from the ordeal that the aspiring
doctors had to endure until last year when they had to file multiple
applications and shuttle between cities across the country to take entrance
tests medical colleges would hold with no co-ordination among them. It had also
curbed the room for the promoters of several medical colleges to extort hefty
capitation fees.
However, a three-Judge bench constituted of Chief Justice Altamas Kabeer (on his last day before retirement), Vikramjit Sen and A R Dave (Justice A R Dave did not agree and, in a strong dissent, stressed that there was no proper discussion on the draft majority verdict which appeared to have been rushed) by 2 to 1 majority struck down the NEET as unconstitutional and ruled that the Medical Council of India (MCI) had no power to regulate admissions to 271 medical colleges, 138 run by government and 133 under private management offering 31,000 MBBS and BDS as well as 11,000 MD seats.
Notably, Mr Altamas Kabeer was widely criticized and even speculated as being handsomely bribed (now most hail as one of the worst and in most likelihood most corrupt justice that India has ever had) disappeared in thin air soon after dealing a body blow to NEET following his retirement. They also quashed the only NEET examination held in the year 2013 making thousands of agonized students and their parents suffer financial and anxiety burdens.
The majority judgment on Thursday took away what was actually given four years ago by another bench of Justice R V Raveendran (since retired) and Justice A. K. Patnaik after long deliberations during which it had focused on the benefit of single-window entrance test for all medical colleges.
Incidentally, what Justices (Retd) Raveendran and Patnaik had expressed in 2010 found reflection in Justice A. R. Dave's dissent note as well in differing with the views of Justices Kabir and Sen.
Against a 173-page judgment by the CJI, Justice Dave penned a 35-page dissent note that was totally ignored by everyone in the country then. He said; Justice Dave said; some medical colleges, who are more in profiteering business rather than in the noble work of imparting medical education, take huge amount by way of donation or capitation fees and give admission to undeserving or weak students under one pretext or the other. Further, "if only one examination in the country is conducted and admissions are given on the basis of the result of the said examination, in my opinion, unscrupulous and money minded businessmen operating in the field of education would be constrained to stop their corrupt practices and it would help a lot, not only to the deserving students but also to the nation in bringing down level of corruption said Justice Dave in his dissent note."
Frankly, this situation of implementation of a corrupt decision being implemented with impunity despite registering a dissent in writing, I also have faced (as perhaps by many others in this country) despite writing to the highest authorities (in my case President and the Chancellor -Governor of UP). But Alas.... :-( समरथ को नहीं दोष गोसाईं ! Almighty, Save The Nation. Jai Bharat.
However, a three-Judge bench constituted of Chief Justice Altamas Kabeer (on his last day before retirement), Vikramjit Sen and A R Dave (Justice A R Dave did not agree and, in a strong dissent, stressed that there was no proper discussion on the draft majority verdict which appeared to have been rushed) by 2 to 1 majority struck down the NEET as unconstitutional and ruled that the Medical Council of India (MCI) had no power to regulate admissions to 271 medical colleges, 138 run by government and 133 under private management offering 31,000 MBBS and BDS as well as 11,000 MD seats.
Notably, Mr Altamas Kabeer was widely criticized and even speculated as being handsomely bribed (now most hail as one of the worst and in most likelihood most corrupt justice that India has ever had) disappeared in thin air soon after dealing a body blow to NEET following his retirement. They also quashed the only NEET examination held in the year 2013 making thousands of agonized students and their parents suffer financial and anxiety burdens.
The majority judgment on Thursday took away what was actually given four years ago by another bench of Justice R V Raveendran (since retired) and Justice A. K. Patnaik after long deliberations during which it had focused on the benefit of single-window entrance test for all medical colleges.
Incidentally, what Justices (Retd) Raveendran and Patnaik had expressed in 2010 found reflection in Justice A. R. Dave's dissent note as well in differing with the views of Justices Kabir and Sen.
Against a 173-page judgment by the CJI, Justice Dave penned a 35-page dissent note that was totally ignored by everyone in the country then. He said; Justice Dave said; some medical colleges, who are more in profiteering business rather than in the noble work of imparting medical education, take huge amount by way of donation or capitation fees and give admission to undeserving or weak students under one pretext or the other. Further, "if only one examination in the country is conducted and admissions are given on the basis of the result of the said examination, in my opinion, unscrupulous and money minded businessmen operating in the field of education would be constrained to stop their corrupt practices and it would help a lot, not only to the deserving students but also to the nation in bringing down level of corruption said Justice Dave in his dissent note."
Frankly, this situation of implementation of a corrupt decision being implemented with impunity despite registering a dissent in writing, I also have faced (as perhaps by many others in this country) despite writing to the highest authorities (in my case President and the Chancellor -Governor of UP). But Alas.... :-( समरथ को नहीं दोष गोसाईं ! Almighty, Save The Nation. Jai Bharat.
