HC rejects MBBS graduate's plea to appear for PGM-CET

 The Bombay High Court has rejected a petition filed by a MBBS graduate from Mumbai seeking directions to relax the mandatory condition of serving a year in rural areas before taking up post graduate courses or paying bond penalty.

A division bench of Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice BP Colabawala, while turning down the plea filed by Dr Shubhra Srivastava, said, "It is not in dispute that the petitioner was admitted in the MBBS course in 2009. The criteria of eligibility to appear for the postgraduate PGM course will only apply."

Dr Srivastava claimed that since she had got admission in the MBBS course in 2009, and the eligibility criteria of a year's mandatory rural service was notified only in 2011, she should be allowed to appear for the postgraduate CET exams.

However, the court after going through the criteria and the fact that the petitioner had appeared for the entrance exams twice in 2015 and 2016, and failed both times, said "We are of the view that the petitioner was fully aware while appearing for the PGM entrance examination of the year 2015 and again in 2016, she cannot be allowed to turn around and challenge the eligibility criteria. If she wants to make an attempt for the third time for the same examination, she cannot be allowed to contend that the eligibility criteria is unreasonable."

The petitioner then pleaded the court to allow her to complete the post graduate course, following which she would serve in a rural area. To this, the bench said, "In the absence of any clause permitting to complete the post graduation first, and then to serve the rural area," the plea is rejected.