Recently, In a case titled Kunal & Ors v Union of India & Ors, The Supreme Court turned down a petition that sought to lower the qualifying percentile for admission to Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programmes based on the NEET-BDS 2021 exam.
The Supreme Court had already ordered the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to explore lowering the cut-off percentile, as suggested by the Dental Council of India.
The Union, on the other hand, maintained its position that the cut-off percentile should not be lowered and rejected the DCI’s request to decrease it by 10%. Counseling for the BDS course began on January 17 and ended on May 15 2022, according to the affidavit filed today, and lessons began on February 14, 2022.
The NEET-UG 2022-23 is set to take place on July 17, according to the centre. In response to the petitioner’s claim that BDS seats are vacant, the Centre stated that when the cut-off was reduced by 10%, 2445 and 5218 seats remained vacant in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.
Senior Advocate PS Patwalia, representing the petitioners, said that the Union’s refusal to lower the cut-off notwithstanding the DCI’s suggestion was “arbitrary and unreasonable.”
Patwalia tried to distinguish himself from previous cases in which the Court had rejected requests to lower the NEET cut-off by claiming that in this case, the expert body, the DCI, had advised lowering the cut-off.
He mentioned that the cut-off for MDS and SS courses had been decreased.
