SC Seeks Govt Response on Dental Student’s Plea

The Supreme Court has recently sought a response from the Central and Rajasthan governments regarding a series of petitions filed by approximately 200 dental students who are concerned about the potential de-recognition of their degrees by the Dental Council of India.

During today’s hearing, Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar suggested that if any relief is granted, it should protect students who are already registered with the Council and have fulfilled the necessary criteria to qualify as dentists.

Notice was also issued to the Dental Council of India.

The petitions challenge a Rajasthan High Court order dated May 5, which upheld a decision by a single judge to remove the students from their undergraduate programs due to their admission with percentile relaxations.

The High Court imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on the colleges that admitted these students, as there was a shortage of seats in the academic session that began in 2016.

The permission for such admissions was granted to the Federation for Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Rajasthan. Candidates who did not meet the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) cut-offs were given seats in colleges based on a reduced percentile threshold.

In October 2016, the Central government requested the State to withdraw and cancel these admissions.

Consequently, the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences declared that the appellants and other similarly situated students were retrospectively ineligible for admission.

Although the students sought relief from the Rajasthan High Court, a single judge refused to consider the plea. This decision was later upheld by a division bench of the High Court, which held that any action in favor of the students would have a significant impact on medical education as a whole.

As a result, the present appeals were filed before the Supreme Court.