HC relief to Ayurveda PG students admitted sans entrance test

The High Court has granted relief to a batch of postgraduate Ayurveda students of 2017-18 batch, who were admitted without appearing for All India AYUSH Postgraduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET-2017).

The petitions were filed by Dr Sontakke Kanchan Ramrao and three others.

A division bench, headed by Justice Aravind Kumar, cited a recent Supreme Court order and said that the benefit of continuing the courses as a one-time exercise has to be granted to all the students who had been admitted to postgraduate courses before October 31, 2019.

In the case of the Federation of Self Financed Ayurvedic Colleges, the apex court held that the requirement for appearing in the entrance test was necessary. However, in that case, the apex court had extended the benefit to the students to continue their courses as a one-time exercise.

The Central Council of Indian Medicine contended that the benefit granted by the apex court cannot be extended to the petitioners since it was an order limiting only to the students before the Supreme Court. The advocate also argued that extending similar relief to the petitioners would send wrong signals.

However, the division bench noted that the apex court had also taken into consideration all the students who had been admitted before October 31, 2019. “In our view, since the apex court has extended the benefit not only to students who had been admitted under interim orders but also to students who were admitted without the intervention of the court, all the students who were admitted prior to 31.10.2019 without taking up the entrance test, would be entitled to the same benefit of continuing their courses,” the court said.

The court also observed that the petitioners in the case were admitted to the academic year 2017-18, which makes the case of the petitioners stand on a better footing. The court disposed of the petitions directing the respondents to permit the petitioners to continue and complete their respective postgraduate courses in Ayurveda. “If the petitioners have already completed their courses successfully, the respondents are directed to issue them with necessary certificates in that regard,” the court said.