The supreme court recently allowed a medical student to retain his MBBS degree even though his ST certificate was later deemed invalid. This decision was based on the fact that he had already completed his course during the pendency of the legal proceedings.
Key clarification on future benefits: The court, however, issued a clear mandate: the student will not be entitled to claim any further benefits under the ST category in the future.
Case background and high court challenge
A bench comprising CJI BR Gwai and Justice Vijay Bishnoi was hearing a challenge to an order by the Bombay High Court. The High Court had upheld the scrutiny committee’s decision to confiscate and invalidate the tribe certificate of the petitioner, identified as Nirvalu.
- The petitioner had secured a reserved ST seat for the MBBS course at [respondent no. 3 medical college] based on his claim of belonging to the Minerva Lu tribe.
- The scrutiny committee subsequently rejected his claim to ST status after the student had already completed his medical education.
Rational for Protecting the Degree
Senior Advocate Sudhanshu S. Chaudhary submitted a crucial point: the petitioner had fully paid the general category fees, making it impossible to re-allot the reserved seat. Considering this, the bench reasoned that denying protection would result in the waste of precious medical education.
The court’s Final Ruling
The supreme court bench, acknowledging the circumstances, held:
’We are inclined to protect the education undertaken by the petitioner. Therefore, the education undertaken by the petitioner for the MBBS degree shall stand protected. However, it is clarified that the petitioner shall not hear and after claim any benefit on the basis of him belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category.’’
Council for Petitioners: Mr. Sudhanshu S. Chaudhary, Sr. Advocate; Mr. R. K. Mendadkar, Advocate; Mr. Vatsalya Vigya; or Ms. Pranjal Chepalgaonkar, Advocate; Ms. Gautam Yadav, Advocate; and Mr. Yush Singh Hania, Advocate.
Council for the Respondents: Mr. Adarsh B., Advocate Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Advocate Mr. Aditya Aniruddha Pandey, Mr. Shrirang B. Verma, Advocate Mr. Sahas Kumar Kadam, and Ms. Black and White Solicitors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am Nishu Lamba, a law graduate and a growing legal writer. I am building my career as a corporate lawyer with my skills in contract drafting and legal research. Through my writing, I aim to make legal topics clear and easy to understand for readers.