2024 sports quota admissions to MBBS/BDS in Punjab: SC quashes midstream policy change
A Bench directed that petitioners Divjot Sekhon and Shubhkarman Singh be accommodated against government medical college seats allotted to Kudrat Kashyap and Mansirat Kaur who would be shifted to the private college seats earlier occupied by the appellants
Holding that the change in admission criteria after commencement of the process violated settled principles of fairness, transparency and non-arbitrariness envisaged under Article 14 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has set aside midstream expansion of zone of consideration for sports quota admissions to MBBS and BDS courses in Punjab in 2024.
“Just as modification of recruitment norms is forbidden in law after the recruitment process has begun, it is equally illegal for an admission process to not be fully defined in all its contours before its commencement, so as to leave room for the authorities concerned to stipulate norms later on to suit their own interests or to permit nepotism,” a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kumar said.
“The transparency of such a process is paramount to ensure fairness and prevent arbitrariness,” said the Bench – which also included Justice Alok Aradhe.
The top court said that “the practice and procedure followed by the State of Punjab in leaving the norms elastic, without disclosing as to what would be the exact policy with regard to the zone of consideration, and allowing itself sufficient leeway and elbow room to change such policy midstream during the admission process is not in accordance with the principles of fair play in action.
“Lack of transparency at the outset invariably enables and makes room for arbitrariness and nepotism to walk in through the backdoor, a situation to be eschewed and avoided by an egalitarian State,” it said.
The Bench allowed appeals against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order dismissing petitions challenging the inclusion of sports achievements from Classes IX and X, in addition to Classes XI and XII, for admissions during the 2024 session.
Declaring the policy change illegal, the top court, however, chose to limit the relief to the appellants before it in order to avoid unsettling completed admissions.
It directed that petitioners Divjot Sekhon and Shubhkarman Singh be accommodated against government medical college seats allotted to Kudrat Kashyap and Mansirat Kaur who would be shifted to the private college seats earlier occupied by the appellants. The studies already undertaken and fees paid by all candidates would remain unaffected, it said.
Noting that the same flawed policy continued for the 2025 session for which admissions were already over and no candidate likely to be adversely affected has been made a party to the case, the Bench said it cannot give a quietus to this litigation at this stage.
“The only relief that can be given to these appellants is to grant them the liberty to approach the High Court once again by way of a properly constituted proceeding, impleading all the proper and necessary parties thereto, and seek appropriate relief,” it said.
The top court left it open to the Punjab Government to frame a reasoned and comprehensive policy in advance for future sessions, uninfluenced by extraneous representations.
The appeals related to admissions to MBBS and BDS courses under the one percent sports quota in Punjab for the 2024 session. The prospectus initially issued by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences on August 9, 2024, clearly stated that credit would be given only for sports achievements during Classes XI and XII.
However, on the last date for submission of applications, the university issued an email at 6.07 pm on August 16, 2024, asking candidates to submit sports achievements of any class or year. This was followed by an addendum and the preparation of a sports merit list that took into account achievements from Classes IX and X as well. It was on that basis that Kudrat Kashyap and Mansirat Kaur were ranked higher than appellants Divjot Sekhon and Shubhkarman Singh.
The Bench noted that while the State's Corrigendum dated August 1, 2023, had expanded the zone of consideration to include Classes IX and X, it was expressly limited to the 2023 session due to Covid-19. There was no justification to perpetuate that exception in 2024, it said.
The policy change was triggered by a representation from roller skating coach Ramesh Kumar Kashyap who failed to disclose that his daughter Kudrat Kashyap would directly benefit from the change, it said, adding this lack of disclosure alone was sufficient to vitiate the modification and the foundation of the policy change stood tainted.
Highlighting glaring inconsistencies, it said during the same 2024 session, sports achievements for several other medical and allied courses were assessed only on the basis of Classes XI and XII. Even for postgraduate medical and dental courses, the prospectus limited consideration to achievements during MBBS and BDS, it pointed out.
The State cannot justify the 2024 change by citing the 2023 Covid-related exception and that any modification to admission criteria must be fully defined before the process begins, it said.
