Govt may file review petition on SC order on medical tests

An "upset" government may file a review petition on the Supreme Court verdict scrapping common entrance test for medical colleges, with Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today making it clear that legal recourse is the only option available.
Azad said the apex court order will create difficulties for students aspiring for medical degrees and the Health Ministry has sought legal opinion on the judgement.
"We are very upset," he said while commenting on yesterday's ruling by the top court. He has already asked officials to study the judgement to decide the future course of action.
The Minister said the government was "expecting a better outcome" but "unfortunately that did not happen."

The court ruling, he said, was "a little demoralising for us because we wanted to clean up a number of things".
Asked what the government planned to do, the Minister said, "there is a legal recourse. There is no other way."

A petition seeking review comes up before the same bench of the apex court which has delivered the judgement.
Commenting on the order, he said the Supreme Court merely said that Medical Council of India (MCI) should not conduct exams but did not say who else should conduct the tests.
He said the court should have said which other body should conduct the exams. "That would have been fair," he said.

Contending that the order will lead to problems for those aspiring for medical degrees, Azad said students across the country now have to run from pillar to post.
They will have to appear in different examinations but still not be sure of admission. Since the entrance tests are held around the same time, the students have limited options, he said.