Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2020 Supreme(SC) 185

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. NAGESWARA RAO, DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.
Union of India - Appellants
Versus
Federation of Self-Financed Ayurvedic Colleges Punjab & Ors. - Respondent
Civil Appeal No. 589, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609 & 610 of 2020 (Arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 26267, 25464, 29172, 29792, 26724 of 2019, 29, 518, 1155, 2493, 2494 of 2020) & W.P.(C) No. 1395, 1461 of 2019, Diary Nos. 18, 356 of 2020
Decided On : 20-02-2020

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant(s) :Mrinal Kauti Mandal, Parijat Sinha, Devesh Mishra, Pallak Bhagat, Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, Advocates
For the Respondent(s):Suhaan Mukerji, Vishal Prasad, Amit Verma, Abhishek Manchanda, Kajal Dalal, M/s.PLR Chambers And Co., Advocates

IMPORTANT POINT
Admission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) – Prescription of all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and minimum qualifying marks is justified.

Headnote:
Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 – Section 22 – Admission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) – Prescription of all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and minimum qualifying marks – Section 22 which deals with minimum standards of education in Indian Medicine, covers topic of an all India common entrance examination – 2018 Regulations cannot be said to be ultra vires the Act – Prescribing a minimum percentile for admission to Under Graduate courses for year 2019-2020 was vehemently defended by Central Council and Union of India by submitting that minimum standards cannot be lowered even for AYUSH courses – Doctors who are qualified in Ayurvedic, Unani and Homeopathy streams also treat patients and lack of minimum standards of education would result in half-baked doctors being turned out of professional colleges – Non-availability of eligible candidates for admission to AYUSH Under Graduate courses cannot be a reason to lower standards prescribed by Central Council for admission – However, in view of admission of a large number of students to AYUSH Under Graduate courses for year 2019-2020 on strength of interim orders passed by High Courts, students may be permitted to continue provided that they were admitted prior to last date of admission i.e. 15th October, 2019 – Such direction is also applicable to students admitted to Post Graduate courses before 31st October, 2019 – This is a one-time exercise which is permitted in view of peculiar circumstances and this order shall not be treated as a precedent. [Indian Medicine Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education in Indian Medicine) Amendment Regulations, 2018 – Regulation 2 (d)] (Paras 9 and 12)
Facts of the case:
Validity of Notifications issued by the Central Council of Indian Medicine and Central Council of Homeopathy prescribing an all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) and minimum qualifying marks in the said examination, arise in present Appeals and Writ Petitions. These notifications shall apply to admissions for AYUSH Under Graduate courses from the academic year 2019-2020. Similarly, validity of Notification introducing the AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIA-PGET) for admissions to Post Graduate courses (MD-Ayurveda) and prescribing minimum qualifying marks also arises in present appeals. Point that arises for consideration is whether the students seeking admissions to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) and Post Graduate courses can be denied admission on the ground that they did not take the NEET or that they did not get the minimum percentile prescribed by the 2018 Regulations.
Findings of the Court:
Doctors who are qualified in Ayurvedic, Unani and Homeopathy streams also treat patients and the lack of minimum standards of education would result in half-baked doctors being turned out of professional colleges. Non-availability of eligible candidates for admission to AYUSH Under Graduate courses cannot be a reason to lower standards prescribed by the Central Council for admission. However, in view of admission of a large number of students to the AYUSH Under Graduate courses for the year 2019-2020 on the strength of interim orders passed by the High Courts, we direct that the students may be permitted to continue provided that they were admitted
prior to the last date of admission i.e. 15th October, 2019.
Result : Appeals and Writ Petitions disposed of with observations.

JUDGMENT :

L. NAGESWARA RAO, J.

1. The validity of the Notifications issued by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (hereinafter referred to as, ‘the Central Council’) and Central Council of Homeopathy prescribing an all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (for short, ‘NEET’) for admission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) and minimum qualifying marks in the said examination, arise in the above Appeals and Writ Petitions. These notifications shall apply to admissions for AYUSH Under Graduate courses from the academic year 2019-2020. Similarly, validity of the Notification introducing the AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIA-PGET) for admissions to Post Graduate courses (MD-Ayurveda) and prescribing minimum qualifying marks also arises in the above appeals.

2. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy (for short, ‘AYUSH’), instructed all the State Governments, Union Territories and the Universities concerned to admit students in AYUSH Under Graduate courses for the academic year 2018-2019 only on the basis of merit list of the NEET, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in accordance with the existing rules and reservation policies of the concerned State Governments. A minimum qualifying mark for eligibility to admissions in the Under Graduate courses was prescribed at 50th percentile. The minimum marks for the Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes and Other Backward Classes was prescribed at 40th percentile. The percentile shall be determined on the basis of marks secured in the all India Common merit list in NEET. Thereafter, by a notification dated 07.12.2018, the Central Council introduced the Indian Medicine Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education in Indian Medicine) Amendment Regulations, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘the 2018 Regulations). The Indian Medicine Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education in Indian Medicine) Regulations, 1986 were amended by the 2018 Regulations. Regulation 2 (d) of the 2018 Regulations provides that there shall be a uniform entrance examination for all medical institutions, namely the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to under-graduate courses in each academic year and that the NEET examination shall be conducted by an authority designated by the Central Government. The minimum eligibility mark for admission to Under Graduate courses has been prescribed at 50th percentile for General category candidates and 40th percentile for Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes and Other Backward Class candidates. The Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurvedic Education) Amendment Regulations, 2018 were issued making amendments to the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurvedic Education) Regulations, 2016. An all India entrance examination (AIA-PGET), on the lines of the examination prescribed for the Under Graduate courses, was introduced by the said regulations for Post Graduate courses.

3. The Guru Ravidas Ayurved University, Hoshiarpur, Punjab issued a prospectus on 31.07.2019 for admission to BAMS, BHMS and BUMS courses prescribing minimum marks in NEET and the criteria for admission to Under Graduate courses. In Civil Writ Petition No.23710 of 2019 filed by the managements of AYUSH colleges, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana passed an interim order on 06.09.2019 permitting admission of students to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BHMS and BUMS) without insisting on the students getting the minimum requisite percentile in the NEET. Similar orders were passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in other Writ Petitions. All the Writ Petitions filed by the Ayurvedic and Homeopathic colleges were dismissed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by its judgment dated 18.12.2019. Aggrieved by the said judgment, the Colleges as well as the students filed these Special Leave Petitions before us. There are other SLPs filed by the students s

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2020 Supreme(SC) 185

IMPORTANT POINTAdmission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) – Prescription of all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and minimum qualifying marks is justified.

Cases Referred (1)

IMPORTANT POINT
Admission to Under Graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) – Prescription of all-India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and minimum qualifying marks is justified.