Bill seeking NEET relief returned in 2017, Centre tells HC

Ministry of Home Affairs, Deputy Secretary, Raju S Vaidya, in an affidavit filed before a division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad, said the Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS courses Act 2017 and the Tamil Nadu Admission to Post Graduate courses in Medicine and Dentistry Act 2017, were received from the Government of Tamil Nadu on February 20, 2017.

Both the bills were circulated to the Central ministries on the same day they were received.

Thereafter, it was placed for President’s consideration in the form of a summary signed by the Union Home Minister on September 11, 2017. But on September 18, 2017 the President withheld his assent. Following this, the bills were returned on September 22, 2017.

The Deputy secretary also produced a copy of the covering letter sent to TN Law Secretary, S.S Poovalingam, stating that the bills were being returned as the President had withheld his assent.

The query relating to the status of the bill was based on a plea moved by I P Kanagasundaram, P B Prince Gajendra Babu, Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association and U Mustaffa that the bills exempting Tamil Nadu from NEET was passed on January 31, 2017 and the status of it is still unknown.

Once a Bill is sent for assent, either the President should grant it or withhold the same. But he cannot withhold the Bill endlessly and is bound by the provisions of the Constitution, the plea said.

Based on this, the bench had directed the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, to file an affidavit, setting out the details of the receipt of the bills.