HC permits admission to tainted college

CHENNAI: More than 22 months after three girl students of a naturopathy college in Villupuram were found dead inside a well, triggering protests against the college leading to its temporary closure, the Madras high court gave conditional permission for it to admit students this year.

Counselling for five and half year-long naturopathy and yoga sciences courses which began on November 7, is scheduled to continue till November 30.

Citing this, SVS Educational and Social Service Trust which runs the SVS college, moved the court for a direction to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University to send seat matrix to special commissioner and director of Indian medicine and homoeopathy for counseling. It also wanted the directorate to include the institution for counselling.

Justice B Rajendran, before whom the petition came up for hearing, said: "When there are admittedly unfilled seats, no useful purpose will be served in keeping the petitioner's institutions out of the purview of counseling schedule."

In this regard, the judged referred to an order of the first bench of the court on a PIL, holding that affiliation could be granted after inspecting the institution. Similarly, another division bench of the court, passing orders on a writ appeal filed by college, directed the authorities to inspect the college and take a decision on admission of students.