Summary
Two duly nominated Ladakh students were directed to receive admission to their allocated central-pool MBBS seats within a week. Relief also covered the other students on the specified nomination list who had not yet been admitted. Access to professional education is not governmental largesse; the State must facilitate it, especially for disadvantaged students. The authorities were directed to coordinate and invited to consider a publicised nodal contact for admissions.
Issues
- Whether duly nominated central-pool students should receive admission and whether relief should extend to similarly placed nominees.
Provisions considered
- Article 32, Constitution of IndiaThe Court intervened to secure the admissions of nominated students from Ladakh and address the associated systemic difficulty. (¶¶ 1, 5, 8)
Held
- The Union and Ladakh administration accepted that allocation had duly been made and there was no justification for denying admission. Farzana Batool’s formalities at Lady Hardinge Medical College and Mohammad Mehdi Waziri’s at Maulana Azad Medical College had to be completed immediately and within one week. (¶ 3-8)
- All other nominees in Annexure A to the notification dated 19 February 2021 were also to receive admission to their allocated institutions if not already admitted, avoiding separate litigation and financial barriers for each student. (¶¶ 4, 8, 14)
- Although a right to higher professional education is not expressly stated as a fundamental right in Part III, access is not governmental largesse. The State has an affirmative facilitative obligation, with particular importance for students facing social, economic or geographical barriers. International materials supported non-discriminatory and economically accessible education. (¶ 9-12)
- The Union health ministry and Ladakh health directorate were to coordinate to prevent admission hardship. They could consider appointing a nodal officer as a publicised single contact; the Court did not make that particular administrative mechanism mandatory. (¶ 12)
Result
Petitions allowed; admission formalities for the two petitioners to be completed within one week, and admissions secured for other unadmitted nominees on the specified list. Order to be circulated to the concerned institutions.