The Hindu : More time granted to decide on minority status of engineering colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 27, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

More time granted to decide on minority status of engineering colleges

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, MARCH 26 . A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court today granted the Government six months' time to take a decision on the minority status of certain self-financing engineering colleges for allowing them to fill 15 per cent seats allotted for candidates belong to the minority communities.

The Bench comprising Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice K. Padmanabhan Nair granted the time while disposing of an appeal filed by the Government against a single judge order directing the State Government and the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) to allot 15 per cent of the total seats in the three minority community-run self-financing engineering colleges for being filled from among the candidates belonging to the respective minority communities, in addition to 15 per cent management quota. The colleges which the single judge had found prima facie eligible for minority status were Mar Baselious Christian College of Engineering and Technology, Peerumedu, run by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church; the Kanjirappally-based Diocesan Educational Trust-managed Amal Jyothi Engineering College, Koovappally, Kottayam, and the Kochi-based Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology run by the Rajagiri Educational and Charitable Trust. The court had also directed the Government to consider the minority status of the remaining self-financing engineering colleges claimed to be run by the minority communities. The Government had submitted that it was not able to take up the issue for consideration as the appeal had been pending before the court.

KSRTC retrenchment

Justice M. Ramachandran today dismissed a writ petition challenging the Government order requiring the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to retrench the empanelled conductors as soon as the candidates from the PSC list was engaged in their place. The petition was filed by P. Pavithran and other empanelled conductors. When the petition came up, the Corporation took the stand that a very few candidates selected from the PSC list had turned up for the job. Therefore, the Corporation had adopted a via media by which the empanelled conductors were retained even as available candidates were appointed from the PSC list. The High Court had earlier directed the Corporation to appoint candidates from the PSC list after terminating the service of the empanelled conductors.

Order to detain ship

Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair today directed the Cochin Port Trust to detain Mersk Atlantic, a cargo ship, till security for payment of Rs. 37 lakhs to the Kollam-based St. Mary's Cashew Factory was given by the owner of the ship. According to the company, the ship owner had imported inferior quality cashew nuts and even altered the consignment date in the letter of credit. The company had also prepared a fraudulent bill of landing, the petitioner alleged. The petitioner complained that the company had suffered a loss to the tune of 37 lakhs. The interim order to detain the ship was passed on a petition filed by the factory.

Disqualification

The Judge also upheld section 91(O) of the Kerala Municipalities Act disqualifying a councillor who failed to convene a meeting of his/her ward committee once in six months. The ruling was given while dismissing a writ petition filed by B. Peter, Kollam Corporation, challenging the notice issued by the State Election Commission on a petition seeking to disqualify him. The court observed that it was the finest provision in the Act and was designed to protect democracy.

School admission

Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair has directed the Principal of the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Puranattukara, Thrissur, to admits all students in Standard I and run four divisions for the year 2004-5.

The court also directed that the three divisions in all the standards except Standard II be converted into four divisions from next year onwards. The directions came on a writ petition challenging the reduction of divisions of classes from four to three.

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