An 18-year-old student's MBBS admission was reinstated by the Gujarat High Court on Monday after her seat was cancelled due to her failure to provide a mandatory document at the help desk. [Patel Stuti Viashalkumar v Union of India & Ors].Despite the student's procedural error, Justice Nirzar S Desai ruled that her removal from the medical seat might result in disproportionate harm.Thus, the Court allowed her admission to be restored subject to conditions, including an undertaking to serve an additional six months in rural areas after completing her MBBS course.."If the Rules do not permit even the slightest deviation, if her admission is cancelled, the resultant effect would be that a meritorious candidate would be deprived of admission to the MBBS course and that seat would go to a less meritorious student, which ultimately is not in consonance with the scheme of admission, which is framed by the governing body," said the court. According to the Court, even students who excel academically occasionally lack procedural awareness, and a young applicant's career should not be ruined by one such incident..The petitioner, Stuti Patel, first secured admission with Dr. N.D. Desai Medical College, Nadiad, and later upgraded to Narendra Modi Medical College in the third round, paying the required differential fees. In order for her seat to be marked as "reported" in the system, she failed to turn in her provisional admission order at the help desk. Despite her brief attendance at classes, the Admission Committee then noted the seat as vacant. She approached the High Court after learning that her admission stood cancelled..It was argued against the petitioner that her failure to submit the document was negligent, since she had completed the same steps earlier and the procedure was widely posted at the helpdesk.However, Justice Desai noted that there was no malpractice or dishonesty involved in the error, despite its seriousness. Accordingly, the High Court ordered that the petitioner be given her original MBBS seat in the ongoing fourth round of admissions and that she promptly finish any outstanding formalities. .In order to find a balance between accountability and compassion, the Court looked into corrective actions that would not jeopardise the admissions processThe Court recorded the petitioner's willingness to serve an extra six months in a rural posting after receiving her degree.A token cost of ₹5,000 was also imposed on the petitioner, payable to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority..Advocates Kruti Shah and Shubham Jhajharia represented the petitioner.Advocate General Manisha Lavkumar Shah with advocates Kanva Antani, Harsheel Shukla, Anuj Trivedi and Vikas Nair represented the respondents. .MBBS admission cancelled over failure to give document at helpdesk: Student urges Gujarat HC to save her career.[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
