Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005 |
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By Our Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI, FEB. 1. A seven-member Bench of the Supreme Court began hearing from today on all issues relating to fixation of quotas by the State Governments for admission to private professional institutions, rights of minorities and holding of a national level common entrance test for admission to such institutions. The Bench, comprising the Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari, Justice Arun Kumar, Justice G.P. Mathur, Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan, took up questions related to the interpretation of the five-member Bench decision in the Islamic Academy case in August 2003, which clarified the judgment of a 11-member Bench in the T.M.A. Pai case in October 2002. The Bench made it clear that it would consider the confusion that arose from the judgment of the five-member Bench but would not go beyond the T.M.A. Pai judgment. The present endeavour was to put in place a proper mechanism of admission and to redefine the rights of minorities. To understand the magnitude of the problem, the Bench asked the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to give the total number of engineering and medical seats across India on the date of pronouncement of the T.M.A. Pai judgment, before pronouncement of the Islamic Academy judgment and the present position.
Spate of petitions
Last year due to different interpretations of the two judgments of the Supreme Court several States either enacted laws fixing the quotas or framed regulations governing admissions and this led to a spate of petitions being filed in various High Courts. As a result chaos and confusion prevailed in admissions to medical, engineering and other professional courses.
`Confusion in admissions'
The All-India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association, represented by its president, T.D. Naidu, and over 100 private unaided self-financing medical and engineering colleges had approached the court alleging that the five-member judgment in the Islamic Academy case had led to chaos and confusion in admissions to professional courses.
`Right taken away'
Senior counsel Harish Salve, who initiated arguments on behalf of some petitioners, said that the T.M.A. Pai case had categorically ruled that the minorities and unaided private self financing institutions had absolute rights to admit students of their choice provided the method followed by them was transparent and there was no profiteering involved. But this right was taken away by the Islamic case. Mr. Salve said the State could not insist that admissions to the management quota be filled on the basis of a common entrance test held at the State level. The colleges must have the freedom to admit students on the basis of an All-India Common Entrance Test conducted by an all India association to fill up the seats under the management quota. This, the senior counsel said, would to some extent streamline the process of admissions besides maintaining uniform standards. The arguments will continue tomorrow.
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