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| Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Court tells State to create extra seats for professional courses
To accommodate students in 'open category'
- Court extends to academic year 2007-2008 its 1994 order
- It is passing interim order for the 14th year in succession
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday extended to academic
year 2007-2008 its 1994 order, directing the Tamil Nadu Government
to create extra seats in medicine, engineering and other courses,
to accommodate meritorious students in 'open category' affected
by the 69 per cent reservation policy.
This is for the 14th year in succession from academic year 1994-95
that the court has been passing the interim order.
As per the 1994 order, the number of seats so created would
be equivalent to the number of seats the 'open category' candidates
would get if the 50 per cent total reservation rule, as per
the Mandal judgment, were applied.
The order, however, will not affect the 69 per cent reservation
being adopted in Tamil Nadu.
The extra seats will be in excess of the existing quota being
implemented every year. In the light of the present order, the
Tamil Nadu Government has to first conduct admissions for medicine,
engineering and other courses on the basis of the 69 per cent
quota. Thereafter, it has to prepare a list of candidates with
50 per cent reservation for `open category' and create extra
seats to accommodate the meritorious candidates.
A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat, Justice
P.K. Balasubramanyan and Justice D.K. Jain, gave a direction
on an application from senior advocate K.M. Vijayan, trustee,
Voice (Consumer Care) Council, seeking necessary relief in this
regard for academic year 2007-2008 as granted in earlier years.
The Bench, after hearing counsel K.V. Mohan for the petitioner
and V. G. Pragasam, counsel for Tamil Nadu, in its order said,
"Without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the
parties, the same order as was made and directions given for
academic year 2006-2007 shall be applicable to the current year
2007-2008".
In its application, Voice submitted that the petitions challenging
the Tamil Nadu Backward classes, SCs and STs (Reservation of
seats in educational institutions and of appointment or posts
in the services under the State) Act, ensuring 69 per cent reservation
and its subsequent inclusion the ninth Schedule of the Constitution
were pending. Till the matter was finally disposed of, the open
category students should be protected by the interim order.
It said unless the court passed an interim order for this academic
year also, the authorities would not create additional seats
for the 'open category' students, thereby causing great injustice
to them.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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