MBBS Admissions: Delhi HC says Class 12 students with biology as additional subject now eligible for admission

The Delhi High Court has said that medical aspirants who have completed their Class 12 examinations with biology as an additional subject and have qualified the NEET exams will be given admission to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme. [caption id=“attachment_5008251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty[/caption] The Medical Council of India (MCI) regulation states that those studying biology or biotechnology as an additional subject in Class XII were not eligible to participate in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) . According to a report from  The Indian Express, a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AK Chawla held the MCI regulation as “discriminatory and arbitrary”. “It is held that the petitioners… all of whom had appeared in NEET and qualified in the entrance examination, and were also successful during counselling but not granted final admission in the allotted seats, awaiting the decision in this proceeding, shall be granted final admission,” the bench was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. The court’s decision came on a plea by students who have studied biology and biotechnology as additional subjects. The students challenged the MCI regulation, claiming that the Council has not considered the rules and procedures of different state boards before rejecting candidates from MBBS admissions. The court accepted the claim, and said that  “lack of any empirical study supporting the MCI’s conclusion — that those who qualify from regular scholastic study in the 10+2 exams with additional subjects of biology/biotechnology either at one go, or after a year, do so without laboratory experience — render Regulation 4 (2) (a) to that extent arbitrary…” Senior counsel Vikas Singh and advocate T Singhdev have contested the decision, saying that the NEET system regulates the entry of candidates into the field of medical education, and allows for students only with the necessary proficiency to gain entry.