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Govt asks MCI to extend admission date despite SC order
New Delhi, Oct 12: In what could be a classic case of going around the apex court orders, the Union government has sought to extend by two months the admission deadline for MBBS courses despite the court repeatedly reiterating that the last date of September 30 should be scrupulously adhered to.
New Delhi, Oct 12: In what could be a classic case of going around the apex court orders, the Union government has sought to extend by two months the admission deadline for MBBS courses despite the court repeatedly reiterating that the last date of September 30 should be scrupulously adhered to.
In a letter dated September 25, the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs wrote to the Medical Council of India (MCI) asking it to extend the September 30 deadline to November 30, 2003 only for the current academic session.
The MCI in its reply, four days later, had said that in view of repeated orders of the apex court, it was "neither open nor permissible" for it or to any other authority to recommend extension of the last date of admission fixed at September 30, 2003 for the academic session 2003-04. The ministry had sought the extension on the ground that in the first year of implementation of the time schedule for completing the admission process, there could be "some difficulties in switching over to the new schedule for the current academic session".
Little did it realise that the ministry itself, quoting a 2002 judgement of the apex court, had written to all the state governments and universities on May 14 this year about the time schedule for MBBS admissions which included September 30 as the last date for admission. The Supreme Court, while fixing September 30 as the last date for of admission for MBBS courses, had directed that no student would be admitted mid-stream and that unfilled seats could not be carried forward to the next year. Bureau Report
The MCI in its reply, four days later, had said that in view of repeated orders of the apex court, it was "neither open nor permissible" for it or to any other authority to recommend extension of the last date of admission fixed at September 30, 2003 for the academic session 2003-04. The ministry had sought the extension on the ground that in the first year of implementation of the time schedule for completing the admission process, there could be "some difficulties in switching over to the new schedule for the current academic session".
Little did it realise that the ministry itself, quoting a 2002 judgement of the apex court, had written to all the state governments and universities on May 14 this year about the time schedule for MBBS admissions which included September 30 as the last date for admission. The Supreme Court, while fixing September 30 as the last date for of admission for MBBS courses, had directed that no student would be admitted mid-stream and that unfilled seats could not be carried forward to the next year. Bureau Report