The Madras High Court ordered Saveetha University to pay Rs 25 lakh each to eight students, who were admitted to BDS course without clearing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
The court passed the order on Tuesday after hearing a bunch of writ petitions filed by the eight aggrieved students. The students were admitted into the BDS course in the university under the Non-Resident Indian quota in the academic year 2016-17. None of the students had cleared the NEET.
The students had reportedly requested the court to quash an order issued by the Dental Council of India (DCI) directing the university to remove 13 students admitted without NEET under the NRI quota.
Reports say that the DCI submitted that no medical institution can be allowed to admit or continue to educate students who were admitted without clearing NEET. The DCI also said that the students cannot to be allowed to take a transfer to any other medical college affiliated to Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University as requested by them.
Saveetha University submitted that the admissions of the students were only provisional and were subject to approval by the DCI.
Justice S Vaidyanathan, after going through the submissions said that though the request of the students cannot be granted, they have lost two years since they are made to stay away from the third year of study. He then ordered the college to return all the amount collected as fees from the students and to pay an additional amount of Rs 25 lakh each within 45 days from the date of the order.
The judge also said that if the amount is not paid within the stipulated time, it would be open to the government to attach the property of Saveetha University and sell it to realise the amount.
Source: The News Minute