Gujarat High Court cancels MBBS admission of Panipuri seller’s son over caste certificate dispute despite general list eligibility

The Gujarat High Court recently upheld the cancellation of MBBS admission of an Uttar Pradesh-born Panipuri seller’s son on a reserved category seat on the ground that he did not belong to the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) in the State of Gujarat..The division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee passed the decision despite the fact that Rathod would have been eligible for admission even in the general category list and would not have required caste based reservation. The division bench passed the order on March 26 nearly two months after a single-judge had restored the student’s admission while considering his family background and commending him for his feat.While the single-judge had noted that Rathod would have been eligible for being considered for admission in open category in a majority of the medical colleges, the division bench said,"There is no question of considering you in the open category. Once someone has claimed the benefit of reservation, he has to stand by that.”Alpeshkumar Ramsinh Rathod’s medical admission was cancelled in September 2023 after it was found that the Teli subcaste to which he belonged could not have been recognized as Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) in Gujarat since his parents originally belonged to Uttar Pradesh where the caste falls under Other Backward Class..The single-judge had restored Rathod’s admission at the Government Medical College, Vadodara but the division bench said there was no doubt he had got admission on the basis of a certificate which could not have been issued.“Once this certificate is cancelled, your admission goes automatically. No one can save your admission. Sympathy is not a ground to save admission in this kind of case,” it said. .The division bench refused to consider that the seat would even otherwise remain vacant and the candidate had studied for nine months before the cancellation was made.On the argument that the student was meritorious and the single-judge had given him hope, the Court said such sympathy should not be given to anyone.“This kind of hope is not to be given to anyone… this was the fallout of your own deed. You knew you did not belong to the caste, your family knew,” the Court said. .The Court also suggested that Rathod could have competed in Uttar Pradesh to get admission under the reserved category. “You cannot get benefit [of reservation] in the State of Gujarat. Go back to the State of UP. You will get benefit over there. You compete in State of UP.”.While the counsel representing the student submitted that his father was uneducated and runs a roadside business, the court asked, “why would you go to get this certificate when you knew that you do not belong to the caste in the State of Gujarat.”At this stage, the court asked the petitioner, who was seated in the row behind lawyers, to go out of the courtroom after finding him nodding and trying to respond to the judge’s remarks. “We have to make some strong decisions, some tough decisions also but the rule of law has to prevail. This kind of indulgence in one matter gives a completely wrong signal that anybody can do it,” it told the counsel while suspecting fraud in issuance of the certificate..Rathod was born in Uttar Pradesh but did his schooling in Gujarat. His father runs a Panipuri stall in Aravali district. He appeared in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) in 2022 and scored 613 marks out of 720 marks and secured 15,423 NEET All India Rank.Rathod was then granted admission against the SEBC category on the basis of the caste certificate issued in 2018. However, his admission was cancelled by the authorities in September 2023 due to the cancellation of his caste certificate.He challenged the cancellation of admission before the High Court. .Justice Nikhil S Kariel in a ruling on January 29 allowed Rathod’s petition and said the cancellation of admission after the admission process being over with no possibility of the vacancy being filled in by an eligible candidate would result in the seat going vacant.“Since seats in all colleges where the petitioner could have got admission are filled in and since the admission process is long over, the petitioner in spite of scoring very high marks in the NEET (UG-2022) entrance exam would not get admission in MBBS Course,” the judge had said..The Single-Judge had further taken note of the financial condition of the candidate’s family and decided to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction in the case. “That a son of a person who is engaged in selling Panipuris having reached the stage of admission to an MBBS course on merits is in itself a commendable feat and whereas further considering this aspect from the view point of the fact that the marks secured by the petitioner were so much sufficient that except for three colleges who had been entitled to admission in all other colleges in the State of Gujarat, clearly point out to the fact that the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court is required to be exercised in favour of the petitioner so as to ensure that he has a chance to complete his MBBS Course which seat otherwise would remain vacant for the entire term.”.The judgment was challenged by the Admission Committee For Professional Medical Educational Courses. In the decision passed on the appeal, the division bench questioned the exercise of extraordinary discretionary jurisdiction by the single-judge and opined that such action would only perpetuate illegality by unduly bestowing benefits on an ineligible person. “The decision to save admission of the petitioner merely by the fact that he has attained high marks in NEET examination and could have secured admission in open category in any of the colleges in the State of Gujarat cannot be a reason to secure his admission in the college concerned,” the Court opined..The Court also said no fault can be attributed either to the Admission Committee or any authority of the college concerned. “The place which the respondent/original petitioner has secured in the medical college has resulted in denying the opportunity of securing admission to an otherwise eligible candidate belonging to the SEBC category in the State of Gujarat,” it added. .The Court also noted that none of the student’s family members had an SEBC certificate in Gujarat. “The caste comes from parents. You are born in a caste. You don’t acquire caste otherwise. If your parents did not have an SEBC certificate in Gujarat, you could not have got it,” Justice Agarwal told the counsel representing the student during the hearing. .Advocate Himanshi R Balodi represented the student. Additional Advocate General Manisha Lavkumar appeared for the Admission Committee.