Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Shashi Saraswat, appeared for NEET-UG 2018 and secured All India Rank 31718. She was eligible for admission under the Defence3 quota, applicable to children of defence personnel who are not domiciled in Maharashtra. The admission process was conducted by the CET Cell, Mumbai, as per the information brochure. After online registration and document verification, the petitioner participated in the online preference filing process on 27 June 2018. She alleges that when she logged into the system, only 21 nursing college codes were displayed, and under the mistaken belief that they were medical colleges, she selected all of them. Consequently, when the first round selection list was published on 4 July 2018, her status showed 'CHOICE NOT AVAILABLE,' meaning no MBBS seat was allotted. She realized her error and made a representation to the CET Cell for rectification, but she was orally informed that no mechanism existed to correct such mistakes. The petitioner then filed a writ petition seeking a direction to allow her to re-select preferences. In response, the CET Cell filed an affidavit stating that there was no technical glitch; on that day, 4344 candidates successfully filled their preferences, and the petitioner's selection of nursing colleges was her own mistake. The system provider confirmed no malfunction. The court heard arguments from both sides. The petitioner argued that a bonafide mistake should not deprive her of a medical seat, while the respondents maintained that the process was transparent and binding, and no provision allowed changes. The text of the judgment provided ends at the point where the court was recording the respondents' submission; the final decision is not included in the excerpt.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the petitioner is entitled to a direction to the respondents to entertain her claim for MBBS course under Defence3 quota despite her mistake in selecting nursing colleges in the online preference form.
Case Details
2018 LawText (BOM) (07) 64
Writ Petition St. No. 19728 of 2018
S.C. Dharmadhikari, Bharati H. Dangre
S.M. Gorwadkar (Sr. Counsel) for petitioner; S.B. Kalel (AGP) for State; Shriniwas S. Patwardhan for respondent no.2
The State of Maharashtra & Anr
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Nature of Litigation
Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the CET Cell's refusal to correct an error in online preference filling for MBBS admission under Defence quota.
Remedy Sought
Petitioner sought a direction to the respondents to entertain her claim for MBBS course as per her merit in Defence3 quota by affording an opportunity to choose medical colleges of her preference.
Filing Reason
Petitioner inadvertently selected nursing colleges instead of medical colleges in the online preference form, resulting in denial of MBBS seat; CET Cell orally informed her that no mechanism exists to correct such errors.
Previous Decisions
No previous decisions mentioned.
Issues
Whether the petitioner is entitled to a direction to the respondents to consider her claim for MBBS admission despite her mistake in selecting nursing colleges in the online preference form under the Defence3 quota.
Submissions/Arguments
Petitioner: Mistake was bonafide and occurred due to the webpage displaying only nursing college codes; a small error should not deprive a meritorious candidate of a medical seat; the system should have safeguards or rectification mechanisms.
Respondents: No technical glitch occurred; 4344 candidates successfully filled preferences that day; petitioner's own inadvertence led to the error; the admission rules do not permit changes after preference locking; granting relief would disrupt the entire admission process.
Judgment Excerpts
It is the specific averment made in the petition that on opening the website, the form of the petitioner appeared and on supplying the login password, students page came to be opened which flashed 21 medical colleges code number.
The report categorically states that there was no technical glitch and it is specifically stated in the report that on 27th June 2018, total number of 4344 candidates have filled the online preference form and the petitioner filled up her form at 7.49 p.m. on 27th June 2018.
Procedural History
Petitioner cleared NEET-UG 2018, registered online for Maharashtra admission process under Defence3 quota, documents verified, filled online preference form on 27-06-2018, first round selection list published on 04-07-2018 with status 'CHOICE NOT AVAILABLE', made representation to CET Cell which was orally denied, filed writ petition before Bombay High Court.
