BAMS course: Karnataka HC declines to extend deadline for admission

The Karnataka high court recently observed that when seats in established institutions have remained unfilled, it is reasonable to infer that the seats in newly established institutions will not be filled up.

A division bench, headed by Chief Justice P S Dinesh Kumar, said this while dismissing the petitions filed by 26 Ayurveda Medical Colleges seeking extension of deadline for admission to Undergraduate BAMS course.

The petitioner colleges were granted the Letter of Permission (LoP) on November 23 and 24, 2023 and included in counselling on November 30, 2023. The petitioners contended that since November 30 was the last date notified for admission, many seats remained vacant.

The colleges submitted their representation to the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), seeking extension of the last day for admission was not considered. The colleges prayed the court to allow counselling for stray seats, as done in the case of MBBS
admissions.

On the other hand, it was argued that unfilled seats cannot be a ground for additional rounds of counselling. It was further submitted that there are not many takers for the Ayurvedic course due to which the seats have remained unfilled and providing extra rounds of counselling or extending the last date for admission would not bring any drastic change in the number of unfilled seats.

The bench noted that in the Neelu Arora vs Union of India case, the Apex Court had voiced against  mid-session admissions. The court also noted that it is not the students who had approached the court seeking extension.

“Another important point is that classes have commenced from Nov 2023. At this juncture, if admission process is extended, it cannot be limited only to petitioner institutions excluding other Ayurvedic Colleges in state. This would result in discontinuance of academic schedule and the newly admitted students would not be able to cope up with the course,” the bench said.