New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): An aspirant of the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) course urged the Supreme Court to issue direction to reduce the percentile for admission to the course considering a large number of vacant seats and to extend the last date of admission for Academic Year 2021-22.

Amit Kumar, the petitioner and an aspirant of the BAMS course, obtained 44.41 percentile in NEET-2021 against the requirement of 45 percentile.

The plea filed through advocate Neeraj Shekhar, said after all rounds of counselling for admissions in the Ayurveda course, 381 seats in State of MP, 962 seats in State of UP and 338 seats are still vacant in the State of Uttarakhand.

He apprised the court about its earlier order in the matter of Harshit Agarwal and others versus Union of India and others, where the court had observed that lowering the minimum marks and reducing the percentile for admission to first year BDS Course would not amount to lowing the standards of education and directed to lower the percentile mark by 10 percentiles for admission in first year of BDS Course for the academic year 2020-21 and also considered a large number of vacancies in the said course.

He further submitted that the admissions in the Ayurveda courses are being made by a common NEET-2021 being conducted for the MBBS/BDS/AYUSH Courses.

"As per the order dated April 29, 2022 passed by this Court, if percentile is being reduced/considered for reduction for BDS course, then the percentile may also be reduced for Ayurveda programme enabling the Petitioner to take admissions," the petition said.

Hence the petitioner said that he is constrained to approach the court by way of the present Writ Petition seeking direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the Respondent Union of India to reduce the percentile for admission in Ayurveda course in view of large number of vacancies as well as also seeking direction to extend the last date of admission for the academic year 2021-22.

The top court would hear the matter on May 17. (ANI)