NEW DELHI: Putting national interest above religious and linguistic minority community's right to administer educational institutions, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that single window National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) would be mandatory for admissions to medical and dental courses offered by private unaided minority medical/dental colleges.As many as 76 petitions, including many reputed minority medical institutions like Christian Medical College Vellore/Ludhiana, had challenged imposition of NEET claiming that it violated the fundamental right of minority communities to set up educational institutions and frame procedure for admitting students.Dismissing all petitions, a bench of Justices Arun Mishra , Vineet Saran and M R Shah said, "we hold that there is no violation of the rights of unaided/aided minority to administer institutions under Articles 19(1) (g) and 30 read with Articles 25, 26 and 29(1) of the Constitution of India by prescribing of uniform examination of NEET for admissions in the graduate and postgraduate professional courses of medical as well as dental science."It said, "minority and private institutions have to admit students based on merit in the permissible category, based on NEET as per procedure prescribed under the Act and Regulations." An SC bench headed by Justice Altmas Kabir in 2013 had struck down NEET through a controversial judgment. Three years later, SC had allowed review petitions to revive NEET. But, the question remained whether NEET could be applied to unaided private medical and dental colleges set up by religious and linguistic minority communities.Terming NEET as a standardisation of admission process devised in national interest, the bench said, "it does not interfere with the rights of the unaided minority institutions as it has been imposed in national interest considering the malpractices of granting illegal admission by virtually selling the seats in derogation to rights of meritorious students. The charitable activity of education became a saleable commodity and prerogative of wealthy persons and poor students were forced to get education funded from Banks making it difficult for them to come out of tentacular octave of interest (on educational loans). They are exploited in bud before they bloom into flower."Writing the 108-page judgment for the bench, Justice Mishra said NEET was necessitated because of "ill­-reputation developed by MCI". He said the system of admission still suffers from many malpractices and that national interest requires further improvement in the system to eradicate evils from the system. "The situation is still grim and require to be dealt with firm hand and steely determination," he said.Analysing the weight of minority community's fundamental right to have complete autonomy in framing norms for admission under privileges conferred by Article 30 of the Constitution, the bench said, "rights to administer an institution under Article 30 of the Constitution are not above the law and other Constitutional provisions... Professional educational institutions constitute a class by themselves. Specific measures to make the administration of such institutions transparent can be imposed... Regulatory measures (NEET) are intended for proper functioning of institutions and to ensure that standard of education is maintained and does not fall low under the guise of an exclusive right of management to the extent of maladministration.""Prescribing NEET is to bring the education within the realm of charity which character it has lost. It intends to weed out evils from the system and various malpractices which decayed the system. The regulatory measures in no way interfere with the rights to administer the institution by the religious or linguistic minorities...Education is not a commodity to be purchased by money power and deserving one as per merit cannot be deprived of the right to obtain it. The State cannot remain a mute spectator, and it must step in to prevent exploitation," it said.Terming NEET is among the first regulatory steps to weed out evils from the system, which were eating away fairness in admission process and defeating merit and aspiration of many, Justices Mishra, Saran and Shah said, "If we revert to the old system, posterity is not going to forgive us... Still, complaints are galore that merit is being ignored by private institutions... It seems that unfettered by a large number of regulatory measures, unscrupulous methods and malpractices are yet being adopted. Building the nation is the main aspect of education, which could not be ignored and overlooked. They have to cater to national interest first, then their interest."SC said despite NEET, the medical and dental education continues to be riddled with major malpractices and disallowed plea by minority institutions seeking to take. one more test over and above NEET. "It is not possible to prescribe further examination over and above NEET that cannot be said to be workable, no exemption can be granted from NEET, considering the objective with which it has been introduced. We find that the uniform Entrance Examination cannot be said to be unreasonable regulatory framework," it said.SC said that when a rule, regulation or law is enacted in national interest, then it will be applicable to all, irrespective of their status as minorities. "The minority institutions are equally bound to comply with the conditions imposed under the relevant Acts and Regulations to enjoy affiliation and recognition, which apply to all institutions. In case they have to impart education, they are bound to comply with the conditions which are equally applicable to all... The quality of medical education is imperative to sub­serve the national interest, and the merit cannot be compromised. The Government has the right for providing regulatory measures that are in the national interest."Justice Mishra-led bench said, it is difficult to comprehend that a constitutional right of religious or linguistic minorities would enable them to establish and administer educational institutions in a manner to conflict with the other provisions of the Constitution."There is no reason why conditions for the welfare of students and teachers should not be made, but any law or rule or regulation that would put the educational institutions run by the minorities at a disadvantage when compared to the institutions run by the others will have to be struck down. The law of the land includes rules and regulations that must apply equally to the majority as well as minority institutions. The minority institutions must be allowed to do what non­-minority is permitted to do. They have to comply with the conditions of recognition, which cannot be such as to whittle down the right guaranteed under Article 30 of the Constitution," it said.