Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Act 1999 & admissions in professional colleges of the SMVDU
Daya Sagar
The Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University has been very much in news in November 2025 after selections for admissions in the first batch of MBBS Degree Course in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) ( Medical College & Associated Hospital) were made by the J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations ( J&K BOPEE) for 50 MBBS degree seats based on ranks in the NEET UG 2025 UT of J&K Merit List since protests were made by some organisations / groups when 42 out of the 50 candidates selected for the said course belonged to Muslim community and only seven candidates belonged to Hindu community.
It is not out of place to mention here that the BOPEE makes selections in terms of the terms for the selections as conveyed by the managements of the colleges to the BOPEE. The protests have been made pleading / contesting that since the medical college belonged to a most revered Hindu shrine & was run with the support of offerings made to the shrine the seats there should be allotted to only the ‘Hindu’ students and that too more particularly since in the premises of the SMVD University only the Hindu traditions & religious practices are supposed to be observed. It had been Vide NOTIFICATION No. 153-BOPEE of 14 -10-2025 that J&K BOPEE had notified the available seats & schedule for online filling of the MBBS/BDS shortfall seats which had become available due to non-joining, resignation/surrender or remained vacant during earlier rounds of counselling along with the new sanctioned MBBS seats of first batch of Shri Mata Vaishno Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) and left over seats of ASCOMS ( Acharaya Sri Chandar College of Medical Sciences & Hospitals Bye Pass Road, Sidhra, Jammu-180017) and in the seat matrix of dated 15-10-2025 under the category of private colleges it was mentioned that there were 50 MBBS seats available in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, Kakryal, Katra& all seats were in the Open Merit category (OM male female), ofcourse the selection was to be made on the basis of merit in NEET UG score 2025. Finally based on the NEET score selections were made based on the J&K UT Rank from amongst the domicile of UT of J&K applicants irrespective of the caste / creed race where 42 Muslim, 7 Hindu and 1 sikh candidate was selected on the basis of general merit. Where as in the government colleges the seats were to be made in terms of the reservations rules as applicable to residents of UT of J&K ( 50% seats for woman candidates and 50% seats for Male candidates to be distributed as OM40%, EWS10%,SC8%,OBC8%,ST,1-10%, ST-2 10%, RBA10%, IB/ALC 4% & and for UT of Ladakh ( 50% for Male & 50 % for Female, no sub categories like UT of J&K). As regards ASCOMS ( initially 100 seats were notified which were later on increased) the seats out of 100 were to be distributed as OM Government seats 40, Poor & Backward ( P&B) 10, OM Management 15 seats , HM (Hindu Minority) 25seats NRI seats 10. Tuition fee for all ASCOMS ( private medical college ) seats as displayed was Rs.4.95 Lakh per year for all categories other than P&B(Family income from all sources Rs.70000/ yr and tuition fee Rs 42900/yr) and NRI (US $21500/ year) seats. The Tuition fee for Shri Mata Vaishno Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) too was also conveyed as Rs.4.95 Lakh per year whereas the MBBS tuition fee for government colleges has been quoted as Rs. 26500/ Per year.
Before the subject is discussed further let us have some brief on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Shrine Board and some legal aspects of the reservation provisions.
Note: 1. A university established by an Act of Parliament or by an Act of State/ UT Legislature cannot legally grant admissions on the basis of religion in its own constituent / university maintained colleges /departments, except in very narrow constitutionally permitted cases.
Exception : a 7 judge bench in the case of AMU ruled in 2024 that a university can claim minority status even if established by a Central Act , provided it was set up by the minority community( not by the state).
2. TMA PAI FOUNDATION (2002), PA INAMDAR(2005),Pramati educational Society (2014) case : MINORITY institututions can give preference only to their own minority upto 50%.
3. Minority institutions declared under Art-30(1) {even if established or funded by state Act } can be allowed upto 50 % of the total seats / vacancies .
4. State universities declared as minority institutions by the STATE OR NCMEI {National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions established under National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act (2004). NCMEI is the official government body that decides whether an educational institution is legally a “minority institution” or not.} are allowed reservation only for the declared minority . St. Stephen’s College (Delhi), Jamia Millia Islamia, many Christian colleges in Kerala got their minority status from NCMEI.
With the demands made for reviewing the rules for admission in MBBS degree course in Shri Mata Vaishno Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME)need has also arisen to take a look for review of the rules and fee structure for other courses in the said University.
To be continued
(The writer is Sr Journalist & analyst of J&K affairs)
