Rajasthan High Court Upholds NEET-UG Eligibility for Candidates Without Biology in Class 11

Court Orders Admission for Petitioner Following Arbitrary Rejection Based on Outdated Criteria

In a landmark decision, the Rajasthan High Court has ruled in favor of a petitioner seeking admission to the MBBS course despite not having studied Biology in Class 11. The court quashed the rejection of the petitioner's candidature by the National Medical Commission (NMC), which was based on the obsolete requirement of having Biology as a subject in Class 11. This ruling underscores the importance of adhering to the updated eligibility criteria set forth by the NMC's Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023.

The petitioner, Gopal Singh, had successfully completed his Class 12 education with Biology as an additional subject and secured a commendable percentile of 99.4359 in the NEET-UG examination. Despite fulfilling all necessary criteria for eligibility, his application was initially rejected during the document verification phase due to not having studied Biology in Class 11.

The court, presided over by Dr. Nupur Bhati, J., emphasized that the recent amendments to the NMC regulations permit candidates to appear for NEET-UG as long as they have studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English at the Class 12 level, even if Biology was not studied in Class 11. The decision highlighted that the older criterion, which mandated Biology in both Class 11 and 12, was repealed, thereby making the rejection of the petitioner's candidature unlawful.

The judgment further instructed the authorities to proceed with the petitioner's document verification and grant him admission to the Government Medical College, ensuring his academic journey in the medical field is not hindered by the arbitrary and outdated rejection.

This ruling serves as a critical reminder of the necessity to align admission processes with current regulations, ensuring fair opportunities for aspiring medical students based on contemporary educational policies.

Bottom Line:

National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations and Public Notice of 2023 upheld - Candidates appearing for NEET-UG and seeking admission to MBBS need not have studied Biology in Class 11th, provided they have studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English at Class 12th level, even as additional subjects from a recognized board.

Statutory provision(s): National Medical Commission Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, Public Notice dated 22.11.2023, Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Gopal Singh v. State of Rajasthan, (Rajasthan) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2814007