HC notice to Guj govt

The Gujarat High Court today issued notices to the state government and Chairman of the Medical Admissions Committee on a petition filed by the daughter of a jawan questioning the exclusion of armymen's children studying outside the state in getting admission to medical courses in Gujarat.
A bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice JB Pardiwala also issued notices to the state education department and Chairman of the Medical Education Board and sought their reply by next Monday.
The petitioner Nina Vadhel is the daughter of Punjabhai Vadhel who serves as a Nayab Subedar in Army and is currently posted in Uttarakhand.

Nina passed her class 12 exam through CBSE when her father was posted in Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir before his transfer.
Nina, who wanted to take up medical course, said in her petition that she could not do so as the rules in J&K did not allow non-Kashmiris to get admitted.
She argued that as engineering colleges in Gujarat consider local students whose parents are government servants, working in army, and on deputation outside the state, as eligible for admission, the similar rule is not in place for medical courses.

Thus, such students who have cleared their board exams from outside the state, cannot apply for MBBS course in Gujarat, the writ petition said.

Children of Gujarat cadre civil servants, such as IAS and IPS officers posted outside the state, are eligible for admission to MBBS in Gujarat, but children of armymen are not included in that category.
"We want to know why the state government cannot extend such benefit to children of Gujarati army personnel posted outside the state," the petition said.