The Supreme Court allowed the declaration of results for undergraduate AYUSH students who were admitted without taking the NEET UG-2019 exam. However, the court maintained that their admissions were irregular and did not comply with required norms. Despite this, the students will be able to receive their results. The ruling balances adherence to regulations with considerations for students’ futures.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court permitted the declaration of results for undergraduate AYUSH students who were admitted without taking the NEET UG-2019 examination, even though it ruled that their admissions were improper.
Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran stated that while the colleges should not have granted admissions to those who did not qualify for NEET, withholding their examination results or degrees at this point would cause unnecessary hardship since they have already completed their courses.
The Court remarked,
“It is true that admission to candidates who had not appeared in the NEET examination could not have been given by the college, yet as of now these students have completed their course, and to withhold the exam results or their degree will cause immense hardship to them,”
The case arose when students who gained admission to AYUSH undergraduate courses without taking NEET UG-2019 challenged the cancellation of their admissions, claiming they were unaware of the NEET requirement due to insufficient notice.
A Single Judge of the High Court had earlier allowed their admission, citing inadequate publicity about the NEET mandate for AYUSH courses.
However, the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court set-aside this decision, noting that the Union of India had published a notice in newspapers on November 7, 2018, informing candidates that NEET qualification was necessary for AYUSH admissions.
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The Division Bench found that other students had complied with this requirement and dismissed the petitioners’ claims of inadequate notice.
Following this, the affected students approached the Supreme Court, which had previously allowed them to take their first-semester examinations while withholding their results pending further orders. In an order dated February 12, the Court vacated its earlier stay order from April 19, 2021, and directed that the students’ results be released.
The Court concluded that although the admissions were legally flawed, the students had completed their courses, making it unreasonable to withhold their results or degrees. Consequently, the Special Leave Petition was resolved, providing relief to the petitioning students.