Health Ministry questions legality of state ordinance

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 17

Even though the Law Ministry has cleared a Tamil Nadu government ordinance seeking exemption from NEET for its students, the Health Ministry is yet to give its consent to the move.

The Tribune has learnt that the Health Ministry has written to the Attorney General today seeking clarifications on the constitutionality of the TN ordinance that seeks to bypass the mandatory legal requirement of medical UG admissions through the centrally conducted NEET.

Questions arise over the constitutional validity of the ordinance, a Health Ministry official said today, adding the ordinance was also against a previous Supreme Court judgment that ordered all medical UG admissions to be conducted by way of a single uniform examination.

The TN ordinance is in violation of the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, which was amended last year to provide for medical UG admissions through NEET.

Section 10D added to the IMC Act said, “There shall be conducted a uniform entrance examination to all medical educational institutions at the undergraduate level and post-graduate level through such designated authority in Hindi, English and such other languages and in such manner as may be prescribed and the designated authority shall ensure the conduct of uniform entrance examination in the aforesaid manner.”

The Parliament passed the amendment which gave legal backing to NEET.

“Legal position being what it is, can we allow the TN ordinance in its current shape? Would it stand the constitutional and legal test? That’s the query we have flagged for the AG. We are awaiting clarifications,” a Health Ministry official said.

“Another question is how TN will balance the interests of students who get admission after clearing NEET and others that get admissions without clearing taking and clearing NEET. TN may eventually have to amend its ordinance,” an official added.