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Malpractices in VYPAM; SC judges differ on penalties on docs- 17-May-2016

New Delhi: The fate of 634 students, accused of adopting unfair means in getting admissions in Madhya Pradesh Medical colleges through VYPAM, hangs in balance as judges of a Supreme Court bench have differed with one asking them to serve as doctors for five years in Army, while the other ordering them to take up the entrance test afresh.
 
Medicos had challenged two verdicts, delivered in 2014, of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissing their pleas against cancellation of their results in the entrance examinations, being held from 2008 to 2013, by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), also known as 'VYPAM'.
 
The VYPAM scam is also the subject matter of the apex court-mandated CBI probe.
 
In its inquiry, the examination board had concluded that the exam process was "tampered with" and these 634 medicos were the beneficiaries of "manipulated examination process".  

Referring the divergent verdict to Chief Justice T S Thakur for "further orders", Justice J Chelameswar said that he favoured permitting students to complete studies and "compensate" society by serving in Army without any claim.
 
"I would prefer to permit the appellants to complete their study of medicine and become trained doctors to serve the nation. But at the same time there is a compelling national interest that dishonest people cannot be made to believe that 'time heals everything' and the society would condone every  misdeed if only they can manage to get away with their wrong doing for a considerably long period.
 
"Society must receive some compensation from  wrongdoers.  Compensation need not be monetary and in the instant case it should not be. In my view, it would serve the larger public interests, by making the appellants serve the nation for a period of five years as and when they become qualified doctors, without any regular salary and attendant benefits of service under the State, nor any claim for absorption into the service of the State subject of course to the payment of some allowance (either in cash or kind) for their survival...," Justice Chelameswar said.
 
Justice A M Sapre differed with Justice Chelameswar and upheld the HC verdict saying that there was "mass copying".
 
"The State may consider permitting the appellants and other candidates alike the appellants to appear in the competitive examination whenever it is held and consider granting age relaxation...Beyond this, in my view, the appellants are not entitled to claim any indulgence," he said.

Justice Chelameswar, who wrote 57-page long judgement out of 115 page verdict, dealt with various aspects of the VYPAM examination process and the challenges to their cancellation by the Board.
 
The judge, who suggested that the medicos be granted certificate only after they serve five years in the Army, however fell short of ordering it due to the difference of opinion with the brother judge Justice Sapre.
 
"...I would prefer that the appellants be handed over the certificates of their medical degrees only after they complete the above mentioned five years. The above mentioned exercise would require the ascertainment of the views of Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and passing of further appropriate orders by this Court thereafter. In view of the disagreement of views in this regard, I am not proposing such an exercise," he said.
 
Justice Chelameswar rejected the submission of the students that the action against them would be inconsistent due to the lapse of considerable time.
 
"Some 634 youngsters, who have already completed their training in medicine (or about to complete) and whose knowledge could have otherwise been utilized for the benefit of the society, would be simply rendered useless for the society in the sense their knowledge cannot be utilized for the welfare of the society.
 
"The question is not whether these appellants deserve any sympathy. In my view, a larger question- whether this society can afford to waste such technically trained and qualified human resources which require enormous amounts of energy, time and other material resources to generate.
 
"Obviously, it takes another five years of time and expenditure of considerable material resources to produce another set of 634 qualified medical graduates. It is in the background of this consideration, this issue is required to be decided," Justice Chelameswar said.
 
Justice Sapre, however, largely concurred with Justice Chelameswar on legal and factual aspects of the case.

Justice Sapre, in the separate verdict, listed out reasons for him differing with Justice Chelameswar on the consequences to be meted out to the medicos.
 
"...I am of the considered opinion that it is a clear case of what is called in ordinary parlance a 'mass copying' and I have no hesitation in holding so. I am also of the opinion that the procedure adopted by the State/Vyapam cannot be said to be unfair or arbitrary. I am also of the view that the action impugned is not in breach of rules of natural justice which has no application to the facts of this case as held in the cases of Bihar School Examination ...
 
"It is a settled principle that rules of natural justice are not embodied rules and hence such rules cannot be put in a strait-jacket. The object of the rules of natural justice, is only to ensure that order causing civil consequences should not be passed arbitrarily. It is not that in every case, there must be an opportunity of oral hearing to person concerned. This principle, in my view, applies to the case at hand," he said.
 
He did not agree with the plea that as there was "inordinate delay in taking the decision to cancel the examination", the court should protect their interest on equitable considerations.  

Justice Sapre also referred to various judgements said that in the case at hand large number of candidates are involved and once the examination is canceled irrespective of ground on which it is canceled then candidates whose results are canceled have to repeat the examination whenever it is held.
 
"They can not take any benefit of such examination like those candidates who successfully passed the examination with their merit," Justice Sapre said, adding that grant of any equitable relief may be construed as awarding premium to the medicos of what they did.
 
"It would demoralise the meritorious students who could not secure the admission on their merit due to the appellants' entry in the colleges by illegal means," he said.
 
Justice Sapre said it is collective responsibility of the government (central/states), educational institutions to ponder over and evolve a uniform policy in a comprehensive manner to firmly deal with such activities in the larger public good.