Nothing wrong in allotment of MBBS seats by BOPEE: HC

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 18: High Court held the allotment of seats of MBBS by the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) for the year 2020 in J&K as right and as per the seat matrix for all categories.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar while rejecting the claim of an aspirant seeking quashing of selection of a candidate who was allotted the MBBS seat in Government Medical College Doda under Reserved Backward Area (RBA) category said there is nothing wrong in the manner the prescribed rule has been operated and applied by the BOPEE.
Justice Kumar on the allotment of seats by BOPEE said the GMC Srinagar as per the set matrix, was allocated 18 seats of MBBS for RBA female candidates and 6 Meritorious Reserved Category (MRC) have made the choice of the college as per their category status whereas 12 RBA female category candidates have been allotted the said college.
“In this way, the 18 allotted seats have been occupied and same is the position with regard to GMC Jammu. It is thus evident that the aggrieved aspirant though has no genuine grievance yet has approached this court laboring under misconception with regard to the manner in which Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules is to be applied by BOPEE”, Justice Kumar clarified.
Elaborating the Rule which has been applied by the BOPEE while allotting the seats in both the provinces Court said, it deals with a situation where some candidates belonging to reserved categories qualifying for higher ranking on the basis of their merit and depending on their performance in the entrance examination are placed in the general merit list.
Court said, such candidates when go to occupy general category seats, are not counted against the quota earmarked for reserved category and is treated as a general category candidate and the seat falls vacant goes to a candidate belonging to the category who is next in order of merit to the candidate last selected in such category.
Court said if the MRC who shifts to the General Merit Category, does not accept the choice of college that would be offered to him by treating him as a general category candidate, then by operation of Rule 17 would have option to the candidate for admission to the college of his choice in view of merit cum preference in reserved category.
“It is because of application of this Rule, which has been elaborately explained by this court in several judgments, the BOPEE found that candidates under RBA for MBBS with GMC, Srinagar as their first preference had the merit points higher than the cut off in open category and there, had been selected under the open category and claimed their admission in the said college on the basis of their ‘merit cum preference’ in their reserved category”, Justice Kumar further clarified.
Court on applying the said rule in a right manner said, the BOPEE has filled up all the 100 seats earmarked for RBA female candidates for admission to MBBS course in the eight Medical Colleges.