High Court
Facts
1 WP / 397 / 2025 + IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABADWRIT PETITION NO. 397 OF 2025M/s. Shubhangi Sunilkumar DubeyAge 26 years, Occ. Education,R/o. Rural Dental College Hostel,Loni, Tq. Rahata,District Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar).. Petitioner Versus1] The Dental Council of India, National Dental Commission Building, Plot No. 14, Sector 9, R.K. Puram, New Delhi 110 0022] The State of Maharashtra Through the Principal Secretary Public Health and Family Welfare Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 400 0013] The Director, Directorate of Medical Education, Government Dental College and Hospital Building, 4th Floor, Saint George Hospital Compound, P.D. Mello Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400 0014] The Rural Dental College, Loni, Tq. Rahata, District – Ahilyanagar Through its Principal / Dean5] Director, General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India Room No. 446.A Nirman Bhavan, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi – 110 108 .. Respondents
Legal Reasoning
12 WP / 397 / 2025 + sought permission to upload the said document. Along with the letter,the Dental College annexed the provisional admission letter issued bythe Medical Counselling Committee portal, allotment letter from thesaid portal and screenshot showing the technical issue faced by theDental College while uploading the documents.19.There was no response from the respondent no. 1 –Dental Council of India to the said communication sent by the DentalCollege. Therefore, the Dental College was constrained to sentanother communication on 21.11.2024 to the respondent no. 1,reiterating the statements made in the earlier communication dated26.10.2024 along with the very same documents, again requesting forresolving the issue with regard to the admission of the student. It is inresponse to the said communication that on 02.12.2024, therespondent no. 1 - Dental Council of India sent the impugnedcommunication directing the Dental College to discharge the admissionof the student in the M.D.S. course, failing which action was threatenedunder section 10-B and 16-A of the Dentists Act, 1948. This wasreiterated in the subsequent impugned communication dated18.12.2024.20.Having perused the aforesaid documents and thechronology of events, we find that the student in the present case is notat fault at all, for the reason that she secured admission on merit in the 13 WP / 397 / 2025 + stray vacancy that arose in the Dental College. She immediatelyapproached the Dental College for admission on the basis ofprovisional admission letter issued by the Dental CounsellingCommittee (NEET – MDS – Counselling – 2024). After having foundher eligible for the admission to the Dental College, verification ofdocuments, filing of undertaking, usual declarations and affidavits asalso payment of the entire fees and the miscellaneous charges wascompleted on 24.10.2024. The student joined the College on24.10.2024 and only the uploading of documents was to be completedbefore midnight of 25.10.2024. Such action was to be taken by theDental College, upon which the student did not have any control.21.The Dental College also has been able to explain thegenuine difficulty in uploading of documents before midnight of25.10.2024, due to lack of connectivity as a result of heavy rainfall inthe rural area where the Dental College is located. The screenshotplaced on record amply supports the stand of the Dental College thatdue to continued lack of connectivity, the document pertaining toadmission of the student could not be uploaded before the midnight of25.10.2024. The fact that the Dental College immediately on26.10.2024 reached out to the respondent no.1 – Dental Council ofIndia explaining the difficulty and seeking permission to upload thedocuments, sufficiently demonstrates bona fides of the Dental College 14 WP / 397 / 2025 + also. This was followed up with the subsequent communication dated21.11.2024. We are satisfied that in such circumstances, neither thestudent nor the Dental College can be said to be at fault in adhering tothe circular dated 16.10.2024, issued by the Dental Council of India.22.A perusal of the said circular dated 16.10.2024 shows thatall Dental Institutions were required to upload the documents pertainingto admission, including under the special stray vacancy schedule –2024, not later than midnight of 25.10.2024. The circular warnedDental Institutions and Colleges that if it is found that students havebeen admitted and documents are not uploaded within the stipulatedtime, appropriate action would be taken and that only the uploadeddetails of the students on the portal of respondent no. 1 – DentalCouncil of India, would be forwarded to the said Dental Council /Tribunals for M.D.S. qualification.23.We find that although the respondent no. 1 – DentalCouncil of India would be well within its power to issue such a circularto ensure that the admissions are completed in a proper manner onmerits within the stipulated period of time, in the peculiar facts of thepresent case, it cannot be said that either the admission of the studentwas not on merit or that the student and / or Dental College committeddefault in adhering to the said circular dated 16.10.2024. The crucialdocument in the present case is the provisional admission letter dated 15 WP / 397 / 2025 + 24.10.2024 generated at 10.41 am, issued by the Medical CounsellingCommittee (NEET – MDS Counselling – 2024). This document showsthat the committee itself offered stray vacancy in the Dental College tothe student on merit and, therefore, there can be no suspicion aboutany irregularity or illegality in the matter. Merely because thedocuments pertaining to the admission of the student could not beuploaded on the portal of the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council ofIndia due to genuine difficulty of connectivity, it ought not to jeopardizethe academic career of the student.24.In this context, reliance placed on judgment of theSupreme Court in the case of Asha Vs. Pt. B.D. Sharma Universityof Health Sciences and others (supra) is justified, for the reason thatin the said case, it was observed as follows :-“30.There is no doubt that 30th September is the cut-off date.The authorities cannot grant admission beyond the cut-off datewhich is specifically postulated. But where no fault is attributableto a candidate and she is denied admission for arbitrary reasons,should the cut-off date be permitted to operate as a bar toadmission to such students particularly when it would result incomplete ruining of the professional career of a meritoriouscandidate, is the question we have to answer.31.Having recorded that the appellant is not at fault and shepursued her rights and remedies as expeditiously as possible, weare of the considered view that the cut-off date cannot be usedas a technical instrument or tool to deny admission to meritoriousstudents. The rule of merit stands completely defeated in thefacts of the present case. The appellant was a candidate placedhigher in the merit list. It cannot be disputed that candidateshaving merit much lower to her have already been givenadmission in the MBBS course. The appellant had attained 832marks while the students who had attained 821, 792, 752, 740and 731 marks have already been given admission in the ESM 16 WP / 397 / 2025 + category in the MBBS course. It is not only unfortunate butapparently unfair that the appellant be denied admission.”25.In the present case also, we find that the student securedadmission on merits and she is pursuing the MDS course even today. Ifthe student is discharged at this stage from the MDS course it willcertainly ruin her professional career and her desire to pursue PostGraduate qualification, which she has secured undeniably on merits.26.In the present case, it cannot be said that if this Courtexercises writ jurisdiction holding in favour of the student, it wouldamount to showing misplaced sympathy. In fact, allowing the petitionwould be in the interest of justice. In the peculiar facts of the presentcase, therefore, reliance placed on behalf of the respondent no. 1 onthe judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Guru Nanak DevUniversity V. Saumil Garg; (2005) 13 SCC 749 is misplaced.27.We find that since the Dental College, in the facts andcircumstances of the present case cannot be held to be at fault and itcannot be said that it deliberately violated the circular dated 16.10.2024or the direction of the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India, theproposed action against the Dental College under section 10-B and16A of the Dentists Act, 1948, would not be justified. Section 10-Bpertains to non-recognition of dental qualifications and section 16-A ofthe Act pertains to withdrawal of recognition of recognized dental 17 WP / 397 / 2025 + qualification. We are of the opinion that invoking the said provisions onthe part of the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India would not bejustified in the facts and circumstances of the present case and henceboth the petitions deserve to be allowed.28.Accordingly, writ petition no. 397 of 2025 is partly allowedin terms of prayer clause (C) and (D), thereby quashing and settingaside the impugned communications dated 02.12.2024 and 18.12.2024issued by the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India. The saidrespondent is directed to approve admission of the student in the MDScourse with effect from 24.10.2024 in the academic year 2024-25.29.Writ petition no. 4438 of 2025 is also likewise partlyallowed in terms of prayer clause (D) and (E) pertaining to the verysame reliefs.30.Rule is made absolute accordingly in the above terms.31.Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of. [ Y.G. KHOBRAGADE ] [ MANISH PITALE ] JUDGE JUDGEarp/
Arguments
2 WP / 397 / 2025 + ANDWRIT PETITION NO. 4438 OF 2025The Rural Dental CollegeAt Loni, Tq. Rahata,District AhilyanagarThrough its Principal / Dean.. Petitioner Versus1] The Dental Council of India National Dental Commission Building, Plot No. 14, Sector 9, R.K. Puram, New Delhi 110 0022] The Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Room No. 446-A, Nirman Bhavan, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi 110 1083] The State of Maharashtra Through the Principal Secretary, Public Health and Family Welfare Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 400 0014] The Director, Directorate of Medical Education, Government Dental College and Hospital Building, 4th Floor, Saint George Hospital Compound P.D. Mello Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. .. Respondents...WP/397/2025Mr. V.D. Hon, Senior Advocate i/by Mr. S.S. Kote, Advocate for petitioner Mr. Alok Sharma, Standing Counsel for respondent no. 1Ms. S.S. Joshi, AGP for the respondent nos. 2 and 3 Mr. A.D. Sonkawade h/f. Mr. Ashwin V. Hon, Advocate for respondent no. 4Mr. R.B. Bagul, Advocate for respondent no. 5WP/4438/2025Mr. Ashwin V. Hon, Advocate for petitionerMr. Alok Sharma, Standing Counsel for respondent no. 1Mr. V.M. Kagne, AGP for respondent – State... 3 WP / 397 / 2025 + CORAM : MANISH PITALE & Y.G. KHOBRAGADE, JJ.DATE : 24 JULY 2025JUDGMENT (PER – MANISH PITALE, J.) :Rule in both the writ petitions. Rule is made returnableforthwith. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the writpetitions are heard finally, at the stage of admission. 2.A student and a Dental College are before this Court asthe admission granted to the student is now in peril as a consequenceof the impugned communications dated 02.12.2024 and 18.12.2024issued by the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India (NationalDental Commission). The respondent no. 1, by the impugnedcommunication, has threatened the management and the DentalCollege with action under section 10-B of the Dentists Act, 1948, on theground that the admission of the student that was allegedly irregularlycompleted, ought not to continue. 3.The events leading to the filing of these two petitions arethat the petitioner in writ petition no. 397 of 2025 (hereinafter referredto as ‘the student’) completed her under-graduate course in Dentistryand appeared in entrance examination for admission to Post GraduateCourse i.e. M.D.S. in Oral Medicine and Radiology. After various 4 WP / 397 / 2025 + rounds of admission, as per undisputed norms, when a stray vacancyarose in the Rural Dental College at Loni, District – Ahilyanagar(respondent no. 4 in the writ petition filed by the student and thepetitioner itself in the companion petition), the student applied foradmission in the said stray vacancy.4.As per established procedure, the Medical CounsellingCommittee, the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare, Government of India (NEET – MDS Counselling –2024), considered the candidature of the student on merits; found hereligible for admission to the stray vacancy in the said Dental Collegeunder the special stray vacancy round and issued a provisionaladmission letter. This letter was generated on 24.10.2024 at 10.41 am.The student, armed with the said provisional admission letter, issued bythe aforesaid Medical Counselling Committee, approached the DentalCollege for admission in the stray vacancy on 24.10.2024. The DentalCollege accepted the student for admission, upon verification of all herdocuments and demanded fees and other charges for confirming theadmission.5.The documents on record show that on 24.10.2024 itself,all the documents of the student were verified by the Dental College,necessary undertakings and affidavits of the student and guardian weresubmitted, entire fees including tuition fees, eligibility fees, blazer 5 WP / 397 / 2025 + charges, processing fees etc. were paid through online payment modeon 24.10.2024 itself.6.As per the circular dated 16.10.2024 issued by therespondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India, it was incumbent upon aDental College to have uploaded all these documents, confirming theadmission of the student by midnight of 25.10.2024.7.It is the case of the Dental College that due to the fact thatthere was lack of connectivity because of heavy rainfall in the ruralarea where the Dental College is located, the attempts to upload thedocuments within the stipulated period of time and date, could notsucceed. In this situation, on 26.10.2024, the Dental Collegeaddressed a communication to the respondent no. 1 – Dental Councilof India, confirming that the student was admitted in the said strayvacancy round as per the provisional admission letter issued by theMedical Counselling Committee (NEET – MDS Counselling – 2024),but all the documents pertaining to confirmation of the admission couldnot be uploaded due to connectivity issue in the rural area where theDental College is located.8.In this backdrop, the student joined the College on24.10.2024 itself and started pursuing her M.D.S. studies. It is an 6 WP / 397 / 2025 + admitted position that she is continuing to pursue the said course eventoday.9.Subsequently, on 21.11.2024, the Dental College againaddressed a communication to respondent no. 1 – Dental Council ofIndia with regard to the difficulty in uploading the documents pertainingto admission of the student within the stipulated period of time. It wasfurther confirmed that the student was pursuing her M.D.S. Course. Inthis backdrop, on 02.12.2024, the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council ofIndia issued the first impugned communication, stating that the requestof the Dental College for uploading details of the student regardingM.D.S. admission could not be accepted as the portal closed onmidnight of 25.10.2024. It was directed that the said student bedischarged immediately, failing which action under sections 10-B andsection 16-A of the Dentists Act, 1948, would be taken against theDental College. The said direction was reiterated in the secondimpugned communication dated 18.12.2024.10.In this situation, the student was constrained to file writpetition no. 397 of 2025, wherein this Court on 10.01.2025 issuednotice for final disposal. Subsequently, the Dental College filed writpetition no. 4438 of 2025, which was directed to be heard along withthe aforesaid writ petition no. 397 of 2025. The respondents including 7 WP / 397 / 2025 + the respondent no.1 – Dental Council of India filed their reply affidavitsin the petitions.11.Mr. V.D. Hon, learned senior counsel appearing for thepetitioner – student submitted that the documents on record clearlydemonstrate that the student was validly admitted and the entireprocess of admission was completed on 24.10.2024 itself. It was dueto the lack of connectivity, as the Dental College is located in a ruralarea, that the documents could not be uploaded till midnight of25.10.2024. It was submitted that for no fault of the student, heradmission secured on merits ought not to be cancelled and she cannotbe discharged from the M.D.S. course. It was submitted that it wouldbe a travesty of justice if the student is discharged mid-stream in theM.D.S. course despite the fact that she secured admission on merits,on the basis of provisional admission letter issued by the MedicalCounselling Committee of Government of India (NEET – MDSCounselling – 2024). Much emphasis was placed on the fact that theentire process of verification of documents, payment of fees and theconfirmation of admission as also joining the course were completedon 24.10.2024 itself and, therefore, such validly obtained admission onmerits ought not to be cancelled. Uploading of documents within thestipulated period of time was in the domain of the Dental College and,therefore, this Court may consider allowing the petition of the student. 8 WP / 397 / 2025 + Reliance was placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in thematter of Asha V. Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciencesand others; (2012) 7 SCC 489, in support of the contentions raised onbehalf of the student.12.Mr. Ashwin Hon, learned counsel appearing for the DentalCollege i.e. respondent no. 4 and the petitioner in writ petition filed bythe Dental College, supported the contentions raised on behalf of thestudent. It was further submitted that the Dental College hadimmediately, on 26.10.2024, sent a written communication to therespondent no. 1 – Dental Council of India, explaining the difficulty dueto lack of connectivity in uploading the documents till midnight of25.10.2024. It was submitted that in such circumstances, the directionto discharge the student, failing which action to be taken under section10-B and 16-A of the Dentists Act, 1948, would not be justified and thatthis Court, in the interest of justice, may allow both the writ petitions.13.On the other hand, Mr. Alok Sharma, learned counselappearing for contesting respondent no. 1 – Dental Council of Indiarelied upon the reply affidavit placed on record along with thedocuments filed therewith. He submitted that the circular dated16.10.2024, issued by the respondent no.1, clearly specified that in nocase could the documents regarding admission be accepted aftermidnight of 25.10.2024. This circular has been uniformly applied in the 9 WP / 397 / 2025 + case of all admissions and, therefore, no ground is made out forcarving out an exception in the present case. It was submitted that thesaid circular in respect of stray vacancy round schedule – 2024 atclause 2.1 specifically asked the concerned Dental institutions to makeall efforts to upload the details of the students granted admissionimmediately upon joining of the student and observed that the Courtsneed not be moved by sympathy for candidates, rather they shouldproceed on the legal position. On this basis, it was submitted that boththe petitions deserve to be dismissed.14.Ms. Joshi and Mr. Kagne, learned AGPs appeared onbehalf of the respondent – State Government authorities.15.This Court has considered the rival submissions on thebasis of the documents on record and also with reference to relevantlegal provisions, as also the circular issued by the respondent no. 1 –Dental Council of India.16.The record shows that the student, in the present case,took admission in what is called the special stray vacancy round in theprocess of counselling conducted under NEET – MDS Counselling –2024. It is significant to note that the Medical Counselling Committee,Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, Govt. of India, under the NEET – MDS Counselling – 2024 10 WP / 397 / 2025 + found the student to be eligible on merits for admission in the strayvacancy that arose in the said Dental College. On this basis, on24.10.2024, the said Medical Counselling Committee issued aprovisional admission letter in favour of the student under the specialstray vacancy round. The said document shows that the student wasfound eligible for admission to the said M.D.S. course on merits in thestray vacancy that arose in the said Dental College. Therefore, thesaid document was generated on 24.10.2024 at 10.41 am.17.On the basis of said provisional admission offered to thestudent, she immediately went to the Dental College with all herdocuments. On 24.10.2024 itself, her documents were verified andthey were found to be in order by the Dental College. Accordingly, on24.10.2024, she was granted admission in the Dental College in thestray vacancy round. She submitted the necessary undertakings,affidavits, as also affidavit of her parent / guardian and she alsodeposited the entire tuition fees, caution money, eligibility fees, studentregistration fees, ERP fees, blazer charges and other miscellaneouscharges on 24.10.2024 itslef. The receipts placed on record show thatsuch payments were made in two tranches of Rs.4,47,000/- andRs.22,000/-, by online payment mode and such payments werecompleted on 24.10.2024 itself. On the basis of having secured 11 WP / 397 / 2025 + admission in the Dental College, the student also joined the saidCollege on 24.10.2024.18.The documents on record also show that the DentalCollege made efforts to upload the documents pertaining to theadmission of the student. It is the case of the Dental College that dueto heavy rainfall where the Dental College is located, there was noconnectivity and the attempts of uploading the documents before themidnight of 25.10.2024, met with failure. A screenshot has beenplaced on record by the Dental College showing that such an attemptto upload the documents pertaining to the admission of the student on25.10.2024 at 06.30 pm also met with failure. The said screenshotamply demonstrates the difficulty faced by the Dental College inuploading the documents pertaining to the admission of the student.Immediately thereafter, on 26.10.2024, the Dental College sent awritten communication to the respondent no. 1 – Dental Council ofIndia, informing that the student had been granted admission on24.10.2024, on the stray vacancy as per the provisional admissionletter dated 24.10.2024 issued in the NEET – MDS Counselling – 2024by the Medical Counselling Committee. It was confirmed that thestudent had taken admission and the respondent no. 1 was appraisedabout the lack of connectivity due to which the documents could not beuploaded before the midnight of 25.10.2024. The Dental College