44 years’ legal battle insufficient to fulfil dream of a potential doctor
Gulam Rabbani :
Studying MBBS course is a dream for the students in our society. Salil Kanti Chakraborty of Bandarban had the same. However, he could not fulfill his dream despite qualifying in all the necessary exams. Eventually he had to enter into a long legal battle.
Salil Kanti passed his SSC and HSC examinations in 1976 and 1978 respectively and applied for admission in the MBBS course in 1978-79 sessions. He was selected for admission in the Chattogram Medical College, but subsequently his selection was cancelled with an allegation of forgery of documents.
After that Salil Kanti ran door to door of different offices to prove the integrity and genuinity of his documents. In the meantime, the selection committee made an allegation against him in the then Anti-Corruption Bureau, which after completion of its primary inquiry recommended to file a criminal case against Salil Kanti.
Accordingly police filed a criminal case against him with Bandarban Police Station in 1994 under section 468 of the Penal Code on charge of forging the mark sheets and other related documents for getting admission in Medical College.
However, he has been acquitted from the charge by a judgment passed on August 21 in 2000 by Additional District Magistrate Court in Bandarban.
Following the court order, Directorate General of Health Services issued three letters on September 13 and December 4 in 2001 and March 30 in 2003 to take necessary steps to give admission to Salil Kanti for MBBS course in the Chattogram Medical College. However, the principal of the medical college unheeded the letters.
Then Salil Kanti made a representation to the Health Ministry on June 24 in 2003 with the prayer for admitting him into the medical college, but he had not been considered with any positive action in the matter. Later the Ministry on May 17 in 2004 requested the Health Directorate to take necessary actions for admission of the petitioner. Unfortunately the Directorate didn’t take any action.
Salil Kanti then made another representation to the Director General of the Health Directorate on October 28 in 2004 to take necessary actions, but no result found even this time regarding the issue.
In this circumstance, Salil Kanti on March 15 in 2005 sent a legal notice to the Ministry of Health, Directorate General of Health Services, and Principal of the Chattogram Medical College asking them to take necessary steps for his admission in the MBBS course within 15 days from the issuance of the notice.
As he didn’t get any response, he filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2005. After primary hearing the HC issued a rule.
In the rule the court wanted to know as to why the respondents should not be directed to take necessary actions for admission of the petitioner in the MBBS course in the Chattogram Medical College in the current sessions and as to why a monetary compensation should not be paid to the petitioner for the willful delay in effecting his admission.
After a final hearing, the High Court on August 1 in 2007 declared the rule absolute. It also directed the authorities to take necessary steps to admit the petitioner in the medical college in the sessions of 2007-2008.
However, the Health Directorate filed a petition seeking stay on the High Court verdict in that year. Upon hearing, the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division stayed the High Court verdict.
While the judgment is suspended, the Health Directorate filed regular appeal petition with the Appellate Division. After final hearing, the apex court rejected the appeal filed by the Health Directorate and asked the Chattagram Medical College to pay Tk 2 crore to Salil Kanti as compensation.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Md Nuruzzaman delivered the verdict.
Advocate Eunus Ali Akond who appeared in the apex court hearing on behalf of Salil Kanti said his client is too old to continue study in MBBS course. That is why the Appellate Division asked to pay the penalty, he added. Besides, the court has warned the concerned so that such incidents do not take place again, the lawyer also said.
