SHIMLA - The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has taken a serious stance on the denial of admission to the MBBS course for a vacancy created by the cancellation of admission for two students who forged their NEET mark sheets.

In response to a petition filed by Sanjna Thakur, Division Bench of  Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Ajay Mohan Goethe court has ordered the National Medical Commission and Atal Medical and Research University to compensate the petitioner with two lakh rupees each within four weeks, acknowledging the loss of one academic year.

The case revolves around two students who were admitted to PTJLN Government Medical College in Chamba and IGMC Shimla.

However, it was later discovered that they had submitted forged NEET mark sheets, resulting in the cancellation of their admissions. Consequently, two seats in the Undergraduate MBBS course became vacant at IGMC Shimla and PTJLN Government Medical College in Chamba.

To fill these vacant seats, the Registrar of Atal Medical and Research University in Nerchowk Mandi requested the National Medical Commission to grant the necessary permissions and directions. Meanwhile, Sanjna Thakur, the petitioner, argued that she should be given the vacant seat in the General Category at PTJLN Government Medical College in Chamba since she was the next rank holder.

Despite reporting the issue to various authorities, including the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sanjna Thakur filed a writ petition on January 28, 2023.

The court expressed shock at the lackadaisical and irresponsible behavior of the respondents involved, as they failed to file a reply regarding the MBBS course admissions, which had already commenced in November 2022.

After considering the petitioner's merit and her prompt pursuit of legal remedies, the court ruled in her favor.

The court held that Sanjna Thakur is entitled to the vacant General Category MBBS seat at PTJLN Government Medical College in Chamba for the academic year 2023-2024.

Consequently, the respondents have been instructed to increase the number of seats in the said college by one for the specified academic year. Additionally, the court directed the respondents to pay compensation of two lakh rupees each and cover the petitioner's legal costs of ten thousand rupees each.