Supreme Court regularises BDS degrees of Rajasthan students: Private dental colleges penalised for illegal admissions

In recent years, several admissions to private medical and dental colleges have come under legal scrutiny over deviations from NEET-based selection norms. One such long-running dispute involved students admitted to private dental colleges in Rajasthan during the 2016–17 academic session after qualifying criteria were relaxed at the state level. The issue raised concerns over the validity of degrees already earned by students and the accountability of institutions that carried out the admissions.

Providing relief in this backdrop, the Supreme Court has regularised the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degrees of affected students, even as it held private dental colleges and the Rajasthan government responsible for violating admission regulations. The court invoked its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to protect students who had already completed their course, while imposing financial penalties on the erring authorities, as per inputs from PTI.

Degrees regularised using Article 142

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi ruled that the BDS admissions of affected students stand regularised, despite the fact that the admissions were made after lowering NEET cut-off percentiles without legal authority. The court said it was invoking Article 142 to do “complete justice” in the specific facts of the case.

The bench noted that students had already completed their BDS course and received degrees, and cancelling them at this stage would cause serious harm. According to PTI, the court stressed that its order was meant to save the time, effort, and resources invested by students and should not be treated as a precedent for future admissions.

Mandatory pro-bono service for benefitted students

As part of the relief, the Supreme Court directed students who benefit from the regularisation to give an undertaking before the Rajasthan High Court. The undertaking requires them to provide pro-bono services in Rajasthan during situations such as natural calamities, man-made disasters, or health emergencies.

Key conditions include:

• The total period of service will not exceed two years in a student’s lifetime
• The service will be required only when called upon by competent authorities
• Undertakings must be filed within eight weeks before the Registrar (Judicial), Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur

The court made it clear that failure to submit the undertaking within the stipulated time would be reported back to the Supreme Court for further directions, PTI reported.

Heavy penalties on private colleges and state government

While granting relief to students, the bench expressed strong displeasure over violations by private dental colleges and the Rajasthan government. The court held that colleges had admitted students by lowering NEET percentiles in clear violation of the 2007 Regulations.

As a punitive measure:

• Each of the erring private dental colleges has been directed to deposit Rs 10 crore
• The Rajasthan government has been directed to deposit Rs 10 lakh

The amount will be deposited with the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority within eight weeks of the judgment.

Use of penalty funds for social welfare

The Supreme Court directed that the deposited amount be placed in a short-term fixed deposit with auto-renewal. The interest earned will be used for the maintenance and improvement of One Stop Centres, Nari Niketans, old age homes, and child care institutions run by the Rajasthan government.

The utilisation of funds will be done under the guidance of a committee of judges from the Rajasthan High Court. The Chief Justice of the High Court has been requested to constitute a five-judge committee, including at least one woman judge, to oversee the process, according to PTI inputs.

Court reiterates NEET-based admission rules

The bench referred to earlier Supreme Court rulings which mandate that admissions to MBBS and BDS courses, in both government and private colleges, must be based solely on NEET merit. It reiterated that:

• The minimum NEET percentile for BDS is 50 for unreserved candidates
• 40 for SC, ST, and OBC candidates
• 45 for candidates with locomotory disability

The court underlined that only the Central government, in consultation with the Dental Council of India, has the authority to reduce qualifying percentiles, and that no state government can exercise this power on its own.

The ruling, while offering relief to students, sends a clear message on accountability in medical admissions, PTI reported.

With inputs from PTI report.Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!