HC rejects student’s plea for govt seat

HC rejects student’s plea for govt seat

BDS Candidate Wanted To Swap Pvt Seat

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:03.12.2021

The high court rejected a petition filed by a student seeking permission to participate in the mop-up round of counselling to get a government seat. He is already enrolled in Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course at Sri Jagadguru Murugarajendra Dental College and Hospital, Chitradurga, under private quota.

P Prajwal from Bengaluru contended that many students less meritorious than him were allowed to participate in the mop-up round.

However, a division bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe said the petitioner had participated in counselling, been allotted a seat and even paid admission fee. “He has no right to seek a government seat after having taken admission in the first round under private quota,” the bench observed. It said Prajwal had neither furnished details of the “less meritorious” candidates nor impleaded them in the writ petition.

Prajwal appeared for NEET 2020 and secured an all-India rank of 2,14,774. He participated in counselling and was allotted a private quota seat. He paid the fee and joined the college in Chitradurga. However, Prajwal claimed he learnt through an RTI plea that many candidates less meritorious than him were allotted government seats in the course during the mop-up round. He subsequently approached the court seeking a direction to consider his candidature for a government seat and adjust the excess fee paid.

‘Deadline over’

Counsel for the government and Karnataka Examinations Authority said the petitioner was allotted a seat in the first round of counselling under private quota and the last date for admission to the course was now over.

Centre, UGC told to decide college status

The high court directed the central government and University Grants Commission to pass within two months a reasoned order on the status of Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Hospital (RRMCH), Bengaluru.

A division bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe said both have to comply with the procedural mandate contained in UGC Regulations, 2016, and decide on inclusion of the college under the ambit of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, a deemed-to-be university, after taking into account the state government’s views.

The bench noted that in this case, the procedure was not followed as UGC did not take into account views of the government and approved and forwarded to the Centre an expert committee’s recommendation. Based on this, on February 14, 2019, the Centre issued a notification transferring RRMCH to the Chennai-based institution.

On November 3, 2020, a single-judge bench quashed the Centre’s order. The bench pointed out that UGC shouldn’t have made a recommendation without considering Karnataka’s objections.

A direction was also issued for restoring the medical college to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Bengaluru. The plea of Moogambikai Charitable and Educational Trust, Bengaluru, was dismissed.

The trust managing RRMCH had challenged the state government’s May 16, 2019, order and the June 29, 2019, decision of RGUHS not to allow disaffiliation of the college. TNN