AIIMS seats not for sale, says High Court; rejects plea for recovery of Rs 30 lakh paid to secure admission

New Delhi, November 29

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a woman’s petition seeking recovery of Rs 30 lakh she claimed to have given to a man to secure her daughter’s admission to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), saying seats in the MBBS course at one of the premier institutes of medicine were not for sale.

Refusing to grant any relief to the woman, Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that the woman herself “perpetuated an illegality” and law did not recognise contracts having an object that is unlawful, immoral and against public policy.

“It is a known fact that the AIIMS is one of the most premier institutes of medicine in India. Children spend hours preparing for the entrance in AIIMS. The seats in MBBS course at AIIMS are not for sale. Appellant may be gullible but court can’t come to the assistance of a person who has perpetuated an illegality,” said the court.

The woman had moved the high court in appeal against a lower court order rejecting her lawsuit for recovering Rs 30 lakh from the man who allegedly lured her into giving the money to secure a seat for her daughter claiming to have “contacts” with the health minister and officials at the institute.

The court observed that students desirous of seeking admission in AIIMS studied 18 hours a day and the appellant tried to “jump the queue” by cheating.

“If by paying Rs 40 lakh you are able to get a seat, what is going to happen to our country? The facts of the case paint an abysmal picture,” the court said and held that there was no illegality in the lower court order.