The High Court on Tuesday ordered that the un-amended Reservation Rule will govern admissions to post graduate medical courses as well as diplomas for 2018, exams for which were conducted through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
As per the un-amended Reservation Rule, a reserved category candidate, if selected against the open merit seat, may be considered for allotment of a discipline, stream and college allocable to him in his respective category on the basis of his merit and preference.
The state government had modified Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules on January 30 this year.
“Once the admission process has been initiated in accordance with applicable rules, the same has to be concluded in accordance with rules as were in place,” a division bench of Justice Muhammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey said.
The NEET-PG is an eligibility-cum-ranking examination prescribed as the single entrance examination to various MD/MS and PG Diploma Courses.
On 2 November 2017, the Board of Professional Entrance Examination asking aspirants belonging to reservation groups (except SC and ST) to tick the OM category, else their application form cannot be submitted.
The candidates belonging to reservation categories had to be in possession of valid category certificates on the last date of submission of forms, which is 27 November 2017, and the category certificates issued after the date could not be accepted.
The NEET examination results were declared on 23 January and on 24, BOPEE issued another notice stating that NBE has declared the result of NEET MD/MS/PG Diploma examination, while result of MDS was shortly to be declared.
After receipt of the result from NBE, BOPEE had stated that further action will be initiated to prepare the provisional state merit list and update the category status of the candidates.
The candidates who qualified the examination as per the cut off merit fixed by the NBE were required to register themselves online and upload the documents on the BOPEE website as per the schedule as may be notified by it.
On January 30, SROs 48 and 49 were notified by the departments of ARI & Trainings and Social Welfare Department. The SRO 48 pertains to the amendment providing for weightage for serving in difficult areas, and by virtue of SRO 49, Rule 15 and 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules were substituted.
The rank position of the candidates was issued by the NEET on February 15.
A number candidates challenged the decision before High Court and its single bench restricted the matter to the sole question whether amendment to Rule 17 of the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005, made in terms of SRO 49 of 2018 process of selection would apply retrospectively or prospectively.
Finally, the single bench held that it will apply prospectively, noticing that the process of admission was initiated by NEET in October and results declared on 23 January 2018.
“Amending the rule on 30 January 2018 amounts to changing the rule of the game in the middle of the process which was impermissible,” it said.
Source – greaterkashmir.com
