The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for the Centre and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to hold a single eligibilitycum-entrance examination for MBBS and post-graduate medical courses in the country from this academic session.A bench of justices R. V. Raveendran and A. K. Patnaik passed the order, which will also be applicable to private medical colleges in the country. The Bench noted that since the decision in this regard has already been notified, the MCI and the Centre can go ahead with holding the Common Entrance Test (CET).
Senior advocates Amrender Sharan and Somesh Jha, appearing for the MCI, drew the attention of the Bench to the fact that the Centre on August 13 last year had taken the stand that the MCI could go ahead with the implementation of the single entrance criteria and, in December, the regulations were notified.
The MCI had sought the court's permission to hold a single entrance test for graduate and post- graduate medical courses, including those for private and even minority medical colleges last October.
The Centre came out with the notification in December last year for holding the combined entrance test for MBBS and PG courses.
Though the court, in an interim order on December 18 last year, allowed the MCI to go ahead with the CET, it had decided to hear the various stakeholders as state governments, private medical colleges and those run by the minorities might have some objections.
On February 18, the Centre told the Supreme Court it was in consultation with state governments to resolve the differences on the issue.
" We make it clear that the pendency of the application shall not come in the way of the MCI notifying any regulations framed by it in accordance with law, nor come in the way of anyone challenging the validity of such regulations if and when brought into effect in accordance with law," the Bench had said.
The Bench had favoured a cautious approach on the issue, saying students were a volatile community. Monday's verdict is bound to be welcomed by them.
March 16, 2011 at 8:34 AM
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