HC orders DME to pay ₹5L to ST candidate for admission error
K.Kaushik@timesofindia.com
Madurai : The Madras High Court imposed a ₹5 lakh fine on the Director of Medical Education (DME) for denying a medical seat to V P Arunagiri's daughter, despite her eligibility. The petitioner, a member of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, filed the case in 2018 after his daughter was unfairly left out during NEET 2017 counselling. Arunagiri's daughter scored 136 in NEET and ranked 43rd for 46 ST-reserved seats. However, three seats were allocated to students from other communities, leaving her without a spot. She was later offered a BDS seat, but it was from a self-financing institution, not a government college, which caused her to discontinue her studies. Arunagiri argued that had he been informed correctly, he would have made a better choice during counselling.
Justice C Saravanan noted that the al location of seats based on national rankings in NEET disadvantages students domiciled in the state, creating a scarcity of local seats. The court held that the DME’s failure to file a counter affidavit admitted its error in the seat allocation. Though the full compensation was not granted, the court fined the DME for distress caused and allowed Arunagiri to pursue further compensation for the mental agony suffered by his daughter.
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