SC turns down plea for cancelling AIIMS admission test

New Delhi, Apr 13 (UNI) In a major relief to about 40,000 candidates who appeared in this year's all India entrance test for admission to postrgraduate medical courses in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Supreme Court today turned down the plea of the Central government to cancel the entrance test on the ground of large-scale use of unfair means during the test.

A bench comprising Mr Justice K G Balakrishnan and Mr Justice P P Naolekar, however, ruled that 20 candidates who were caught using unfair means will, however, be disqualified.

The court also allowed the plea of Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam that the government should be permitted to debar those candidates also against whom material is found or evidence is collected during the ongoing investigation by the CBI.

Earlier, senior counsel Arun Jaitley, appearing for 12 students who had filed application challenging the proposed cancellation of entrance test, contended that the use of unfair means was a localised affair and was confined only to the centres in Chennai and Delhi and because 20 odd candidates have been found deploying unfair means, about over 36,900 candidates who appeared in the test could not be penalised.

Mr Jaitley also pleaded that there are candidates who have worked very hard throughout the year, they have given up thier old seats and now when they are about to succeed, the entrance test should not be cancelled.

The court, accepting the contention of Mr Jaitley, directed that counselling for successful candidates shall start as per schedule on April 21.

The admission process is to be completed by May 31.

In this case, many arrests including those of senior professors, have already been made by the CBI.

UNI AKS/SC PK RAI1357