The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Second process selection in BIM not in accordance with law: High Court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 12, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Second process selection in BIM not in accordance with law: High Court

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, DEC. 11. A "second process of selection" adopted by the Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM) for its Master of Business Administration (MBA) course, in addition to the common all-India entrance tests, is not in accordance with law, the Madras High Court has ruled.

"The procedure of admitting students to MBA course by calling them to undergo the second process of selection, including a group discussion and personal interview, can never be given the seal of approval by this court," said Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, on a writ petition filed by K. Srinivasan.

The Judge further said: "It is crystal clear that selection of candidates to professional courses can be made only based on a common merit test held for all professional institutions. Such test must be held by the consortium of private institutions or by the State body. Apart from testing a candidate's merit in a common entrance test, there would be no scope for any institution to hold any other different test for admission of students to different professional courses, including MBA. Any other view would run contrary to the dictum of the Supreme Court. It cannot be permitted to be made."

List not quashed

Mr. Justice Kalifulla, however, did not accede to the petitioner's prayer that the entire selection list be quashed. Setting at naught the entire selection at this stage, when the second semester itself was coming to an end, would "seriously affect the interest of several students," he said, adding, "it would be wholly inappropriate even to venture any such attempt at this stage. It would be wholly unjustified if the selection of all candidates is to be upset, at this stage, especially in the absence of all those selected candidates being given any opportunity of hearing in this writ petition. It will not be prudent for this court to upset the selection merely on the ground that the BIM adopted a second process of selection after short-listing candidates based on the all-India level common entrance test conducted by the Association of Indian Management Schools."

The petitioner alleged that the BIM had resorted to favouritism by admitting candidates sponsored by the public sector undertaking, BHEL. Admitting that the BIM reserved five out of 60 seats for BHEL-sponsored candidates, the BIM said the public sector undertaking had contributed a lot to the infrastructure development of the institution and added that merit was accorded due importance for the five students as well. However, Mr. Justice Kalifulla said: "It will have to be held that such a selection would again be contrary to the selection procedure prescribed by the Supreme Court."

Though the Judge declared that the "selection process adopted by the BIM in respect of MBA course for 2004-06 was not in consonance with the selection process prescribed by the Supreme Court," he said the petitioner-candidate could not be ordered admitted in the middle of the academic year.

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