HC disposes Medical Entrance petitions

Chennai, Jul 10 (UNI) Madras High Court today disposed a batch of Public Interest Litigation(PIL) petitions seeking the removal of names of students, who have already got admissions in other professional courses like engineering, agriculture, law and veterinery sciences.

The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice P Jyothimani, in their order declared that the students, who were already admitted to any professional courses, are not permitted to compete with the other students to get entrance for the medical and BDS courses.

''The students, who discontinued their earlier courses , while joining the medical or BDS courses had not only affected their professional career but the empty seats caused a huge loss to the society too'', the Division Bench observed.

Till last year, the clause 6(a)(ii) of the Prospectus has disallowed the students, who have got admitted to engineering, law, agriculture and veterinary sciences, among others, to apply for medical and BDS entrance courses.

The petitioners argued that the clause, arbitrarily removed this year by the authorites, was creating problems for the students, who have passed after 2005.

Advocate General Viduthalai, who appeared in court today had pledged to the court that the system followed in the last year, continued this year also.

The Division Bench observed in the order that the selection comittee during the counselling shall follow the rule and ascertain whether an applicant had already joined any other professional courses and whether he or she is eligible to get entrance by virtue of the clause 6(a)(ii) in the prospectus.

Justice Shah also observed:''we want to make clear two things. One, if admitted to any other professional courses, the students entrance to medical or BDS courses is clearly barred and, two, if they had discontinued the courses and seats did not go waste, it is for the students to convince the selection comittee to get admission for medical or BDS courses.'' UNI