SC orders Rs 10 crore fine on 10 dental colleges over illegal BDS admissions

The Supreme Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 crore each on ten private dental colleges in Rajasthan for serious violations in BDS admissions, terming their actions a “blatant illegality” that compromised medical education standards.

A bench comprising Justices Vijay Bishnoi and J K Maheshwari expressed strong disapproval of both the institutions and the Rajasthan government, noting that admission norms were knowingly flouted during the 2016–17 academic session.

In addition to penalising the colleges, the apex court directed the state government to deposit Rs 10 lakh with the



Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) for failing to follow due legal procedures in Bachelor of Dental Surgery admissions.

The court found that the state government had unlawfully reduced the minimum NEET percentile required for BDS admissions, first by 10 per cent and then by an additional 5 per cent without proper authorisation.

This move allowed several students who did not meet the eligibility criteria set by the Dental Council of India (DCI) to secure admissions. Some colleges went a step further by admitting students even beyond the permitted relaxation.