99% NEET scorer’s fate hangs in balance as court asks Pondy govt to act

NEW DELHI: Najih Sarfraz Khalid’s 99.3 percentile NEET scores meant he could get admission to any top university, which he did when he got himself into a prestigious medical college in Puducherry. It was all right till another student, Saminathan S, found a glitch in his application and approached authorities.

Khalid was found to have claimed residency in two states —Kerala and Puducherry — a fact which as per Union Territory admission norms rendered his admission liable to be cancelled. When the authorities did not pay heed to Saminathan’s complaint, he approached the Madras High Court.

A single judge bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the Puducherry government and the Union Health Ministry to take an “appropriate decision” on his admission. As of now, Khalid’s fate at college still hangs in balance.

Citing the reason for reverting the matter back to the admission authorities, Justice CV Karthikeyan, the presiding judge, said in the judgment, “They had offered him a seat. Now they will have to take an appropriate decision. It is not for the court to advise a public servant regarding duty. They’ll have to abide by their rules.”

Khalid is currently a first year MBBS student in Puducherry campus of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). His admission came under question when 18-year-old Saminathan alleged that Khalid had claimed nativity in Puducherry as well as Kerala for admission before the concerned authorities.