Crowning Glory: Supreme Court Saves MDS Aspirations Just in Time!

The MDS graduates, batch of 2016-19 filed an appeal in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan heared the case.

It was in response to the Supreme Court’s recent order directing the issuance of pending degrees to MDS (Master of Dental Surgery) graduates. The Supreme Court observed the 'dearth of Super-Specialty Doctors' in dentistry.

The dispute arises from the Regulatory Authority's order canceling admissions, citing that the appellants, who completed their Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, did not participate in the counseling process, thereby violating the Supreme Court's 2016 directive.

In response, the appellants filed a writ petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which granted an interim stay on the cancellation. Soon after the appellants completed their MDS course, the High Court dismissed the writ petition and confirmed cancellation orders. The MDS graduates then approached the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.

Sr Advocate Kapil Sibal. Sr Advocate Saurabh Mishra appearing for the State of Madhya Pradesh and Sr Advocate Gaurav Sharma for the Dental Council of India argued that the admissions were illegal, a backdoor entry without the counselling process.

The Court rejected the above contention and observed that the MDS admissions of other students who completed their BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) from the State and the same college were not disturbed. The surprising fact was that the students who had graduated from the state dental college and had not participated in counseling were exempted from this directive

The Court negated the argument that the appellants had higher irregularities than BDS degree holders from within the state. The Court agreed that if the admissions were not regularized, the time spent to clear the degree would be wasted. The High Court orders and cancellations were disregarded.

"If the admissions are not regularized, the time spent on higher education would be wasted. Besides there was a scarcity of super specialty dentists Therefore, under these circumstances, the court is inclined to allow the appeal and quash and set aside the impugned order passed by the High Court and the orders passed by the Regulatory Authority and the Appellate Authority.", the court said.

The Court directed the regularisation of all admissions and issuance of necessary degrees.

It clarified that the present order was due to the peculiar facts and circumstances and cannot be treated as a precedent in any other matter.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Dr. Swati Sharma/MSM)