NEET bills rejection: Centre denies TN’s claim of not being informed, says even true copies were returned to state in Sept 2017

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government was not only informed that the two bills to exclude the state from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) were rejected by the President as early as September 22, 2017 but the copies of the bills sent to the President's office for his assent were also returned to the state, Union home ministry informed the Madras high court on Tuesday.
Raju S Vaidya, deputy secretary to the home ministry, made the submission through an affidavit before a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad.
Through a communication dated September 22, 2017, the Union home ministry informed the Tamil Nadu government's law secretary that the President withheld his assent on September 18, 2017. The authenticated copies of the two bills were also returned along with the communication, Vaidya said through the affidavit.
The issue pertains to a PIL moved by Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare, represented by P B Prince Gajendra Babu and U Mustaffa, seeking a direction to the state government to complete the procedures for obtaining the Presidential assent for the bills on or before August 15, 2017.
When the plea came up for hearing last week, the home ministry informed the court that the bills had been rejected.
“We received a communication from the Union home ministry to the effect that bills - the Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS Courses Bill, 2017 and the Tamil Nadu Admission to Post Graduate Courses in Medicine and Dentistry - were received from the Tamil Nadu government on February 20, 2017 and that the bills were withheld by the President on September 18, 2017,” counsels for the Union government said.
On the clarification sought for, as to whether the bills were withheld or rejected, Union home ministry had stated that the bills had been rejected, they added.
Recording the same, the bench directed the Union home ministry to file an affidavit, setting out the details of the receipt of the bills, in particular the date of rejection, as submitted by counsel Union government by July 16.
Complying with the direction, the ministry filed an affidavit stating that the Tamil Nadu government was not only informed about the rejection through a communication dated September 22, 2017 but the true copies of the bills were also returned to the state on the same day.