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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, BELA M. TRIVEDI, JJ.
Maha P. & Ors. – Appellants
Versus
The State of Kerala & Ors. – Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 3654 of 2022 And with Civil Appeal No. 3655 of 2022
Decided On : 18-05-2022
NRI Quota - Transfer of Seats - Kerala High Court - NEET-UG - 2021-22 - [NEET-UG, Kerala Engineering, Architecture, and Medical courses, Prospectus, Information Bulletin]
Fact of the Case:
The case involves a dispute over the transfer of NRI quota seats in unaided private medical colleges in Kerala to the unreserved category. The appellants, candidates who applied for MBBS seats under the NRI category, challenged the transfer of vacant NRI seats to the general state quota. The High Court dismissed the writ petition, and the Division Bench upheld the decision.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that sufficient time was granted to NRI quota candidates to exercise their options, and the transfer of vacant NRI seats to the general state quota was in accordance with the Prospectus and Information Bulletin. The court also noted that the appellants did not challenge the prospectus or the information bulletin.
Issues: The main issues were whether the NRI quota seats could be transferred to the unreserved category and whether the transfer was in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Prospectus and Information Bulletin.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the transfer of vacant NRI seats to the general state quota was permissible under Clause 5.5.4 of the Prospectus and the Information Bulletin. The court also emphasized that the appellants did not challenge the relevant provisions.
Final Decision: The appeals were dismissed as the court found that the transfer of vacant NRI seats to the general state quota was in accordance with the applicable provisions, and the rejection of the representation for an extension of time was not arbitrary or malafide.
JUDGMENT :
Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.
1. These appeals arise from a judgment dated 8 April 2022 of a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, by which a writ petition seeking a direction to grant time for fresh registration in the Non-resident Indian,1[“NRI”] quota in NEET-UG in unaided private medical colleges in the State of Kerala was dismissed. At the core of the dispute is whether the seats reserved for the NRI quota in private medical colleges in the State of Kerala can be transferred to the unreserved category.
2. The National Testing Agency invited online applications for NEET-UG 2021-22 from 1 June 2021 to 21 June 2021. The last date for submitting applications was extended to 24 June 2021. A notification was issued on 25 June 2021 granting an opportunity to candidates to make corrections to their applications. The candidates were allowed to rectify defects from 11 September 2021 to 17 September 2021. Two extensions for the submission of documents were given. The Government issued orders permitting the NRI candidates to cure defects in attestation by 31 March 2022.
3. The private institutions reserve 15% of the total seats for the NRI category. The unaided private medical colleges in the State of Kerala have a total of 358 seats in the NRI quota. The rank list of the eligible NRI quota candidates in NEET-UG 2021-22 was exhausted after two rounds of counselling conducted by the Commissioner for Entrance Examination,2[“CEE”]. However, even after the exhaustion of the NRI rank list, 57 seats were vacant. The Kerala Private Medical College Management Association,3[“respondent association”] made a representation to the CEE on 17 March 2022, requesting the authority to invite fresh applications to fill up the vacant seats in the NRI quota on the ground that many students were unable to submit the required documents before the cut-off date due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A writ petition was instituted on 24 March 2022 seeking a direction to grant time to candidates to register for the NRI quota seats before the commencement of the mop-up counselling. By an order dated 29 March 2022, the Single Judge of the Kerala High Court directed the CEE to consider the representation filed by the respondent association. Pursuant to the judgment of the Single Judge, the respondent association made another representation to the CEE on 30 March 2022. The CEE considered the representation and by an order dated 31 March 2022 held that no further extension of time could be provided since candidates had been given sufficient time to apply for the NRI quota :
“During this year, the applicants had been given sufficient time to apply for NRI quota. After two phases of allotments there are about 300 students remaining in the NRI category list and awaiting for allotment. The mop up counselling process is going on and the allotment is scheduled to be published on 02.04.2022. As per MCI schedule, the admission to MBBS course has to be completed before 05.04.2022.
In these circumstances, it is not possible to invite fresh applications for NRI quota. Hence, your demand in the representation could not be considered.”
The CEE transferred 47 vacant NRI seats in private medical institutions to the general state quota for the mop-up round. The Single Judge of the Kerala High Court dismissed the writ petition on 4 April 2022 observing that :
(i) Out of the 358 NRI seats in the State of Kerala, 300 seats were filled up before the second allotment. At the time of the filing of the writ petition, about 57 seats in the NRI quota were vacant. After the interim order dated 29 March 2022, a few more students exercised their options. As of date, there are 46 vacant NRI quota seats;
(ii) Sufficient time was granted to the NRI quota candidates to exercise their options. The classes have commenced. The last date for admission is 5 April 2022; and
(iii) The CEE would be a
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