Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Ananya Mandal vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 12 September, 2024
Author: Jay Sengupta
Bench: Jay Sengupta
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
APPELLATE SIDE
Present:
The Hon'ble Justice Jay Sengupta
WPA 23123 of 2024
Ananya Mandal
Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
For the Petitioner: Mr. Sk. Jayed Hossain.
For the State: Mr. Gaurav Das,
Ms. Tuli Sinha.
For the WBMC: Mr. Sirsanya Bandopadhyay ld.AGP.,
Mr. Arka Kumar Nag,
Ms. Deboleena Ghosh.
For the NMC: Mr. Sunit Kr. Roy.
Heard On: 12.09.2024
Judgment On: 12.09.2024
Jay Sengupta, J.:-
2
1.
This is an application for permitting the petitioner to rectify the online
registration and allow her to appear in round 2 counselling for
admission in MBBS course as an OBC(B) category candidate.
2. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits as
follows. The petitioner belongs to OBC(B) category. She sat in the
NEET-UG, 2024 and obtained a good rank. She filled up the form for
Central Counselling under the category OBC as there was no sub-
category provided there. However, while filling up the form for
registration for counselling in the State of West Bengal, she made an
inadvertent error in describing herself merely as OBC category
candidate. She should have actually made it clear that she was an
OBC(B) category candidate. The registration for 2 nd round of
counselling had started yesterday and will end tomorrow i.e., on 13 th
September, 2024. Unless the petitioner is allowed to correct the
registration form, she shall suffer irreparable harm and prejudice.
Reliance is also placed on a notification issued by the Central
Government dated 09.09.2024 stating that the MCC or DGHS cannot
change or edit category of any candidate and if any candidate wished
to change his/her category, he might visit examination controlling
authority i.e., NTA/NBE for change of category and revision of his/her
rank.
3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the West Bengal Medical
Counselling Committee denies the allegations and submits as follows.
The schedule for counselling and the like have been fixed pursuant to
directions passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court. If the petitioner is
allowed to change the category at this stage, the entire process of
nationwide counselling has to be stalled. First, the State authorities
have to inform the Central authorities to put the process on hold. Then
the software needs to be recast so as to delete the wrong information
purportedly provided by the petitioner. Only thereafter, the new
information as is being provided by the petitioner could be filled up.
Then it has to be found out what is the rank that the petitioner is
getting. The process would involve the rank of others to be changed
accordingly. The entire process shall cause severe harassment to the
other candidates and would involve substantial costs and efforts. In
fact, the schedule fixed by the Hon'ble Apex Court may get effected.
4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the NMC submits that the
notification dated 09.09.2024 of the Central Government does not
apply here because for Central Counselling there is no sub-
categorisation of OBC. Thus, any possible change in the category
contemplated therein would not refer to such sub-categorisation.
5. I have heard the learned counsels appearing on behalf of the parties
and have perused the writ petition and copies of documents relied
upon.
6. The petitioner intends to pursue MBBS course at a good Government
College and become a doctor. She ought to have been more careful
while filling up the form for counselling. Nobody else can be made
responsible for the error that was committed by her.
7. After going through the submissions advanced on behalf of the State
Counselling Committee, it is quite clear that any change in such
information as provided by the petitioner as regards sub-category of
OBC would involve stalling the entire nationwide process. Even
thereafter, the software has to be recast or reset in order to have the
wrong information deleted and thereafter, the ranks ascertained. This
would not only involve a lot of effort, but also substantial cost and all
these for no fault of the Testing Agency.
8. It further appears that this wrong information is not coming in the way
of the petitioner in participating in the Central Counselling process
because no sub-categorisation of OBC category exists there.
9. In view of the above and for the balance of convenience, it will not be
prudent to allow the petitioner to change information given in the online
registration.
10. Therefore, the writ petition is dismissed, however, without any order as
to costs.
11. Parties shall act on a server copy downloaded from the official website
of this Court.
(Jay Sengupta, J)
NB/04
