The Hindu : Front Page : Court strikes down order on entrance test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Court strikes down order on entrance test

A. Subramani

CET compulsory for admissions

CHENNAI: : The Madras High Court on Monday struck down the Government Order abolishing the common entrance examination for professional course admissions in the State, holding that this was not the correct or valid method to give redress to rural students.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Markandey Katju and Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, however, declined to interfere with the improvement examination scheme and said it was only a concession extended by the Government for students to improve their marks.

For the current academic year, the Government shall take into account the aggregate of marks obtained in the CET and the improvement examination as these examinations had already been held. "It would not be proper to cancel the improvement examination this year. But, for the academic year 2006-07 and onwards the improvement test need not be held by the authorities, unless they choose to restore it."

The Bench was passing orders on hundreds of writ petitions challenging the validity of the abolition of the TN Professional Courses Common Entrance Examination 2005 and the discontinuation of the improvement examinations for admission to professional colleges for 2005-06.

MCI Regulations

The Judges said the Regulations of the Graduate Medical Education 1997, framed by the Medical Council of India, had made it clear that in States having more than one medical college or one university board or examining body an entrance examination was mandatory. "The 1997 Regulation is, in our opinion, really in furtherance of Article 14 of the Constitution which aims at equality," the Judges said, adding that according to the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court all the MCI Regulations were mandatory and not directive.

While the MCI Regulations are a delegated legislation, the challenged Government Order of June 9 is purely an executive order, and it cannot override the statutory rules or regulations, they reasoned.

"In our opinion, if the State Government wanted to depart from the selection method laid down in the Regulations, it was incumbent on it to pass an Act or Ordinance and get the assent from the President. That has not been done. Even if that had been done, it is doubtful whether it would have been a valid law, since it would still be in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. The GO is not a law which has received the assent of the President," the Judges said.

They said the CET was compulsory for admissions to medical, engineering and dental courses, and added that since there were different examining boards holding examinations for Plus Two students, they had different syllabi, different question papers and different marking standards.

Sharing the Government's concern for rural students, they said it could approach the MCI or AICTE or the Dental Council for amending the Regulations and evolving a "legally permissible" solution.

On the improvement examination, the Bench said it was a policy decision and that ordinarily the court would not interfere with such decisions.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section

``Farm sector growth disturbing''

Court strikes down order on entrance test

Congress waiting for Sonia's return

Jayalalithaa for early start to Chennai metro rail

Kishtwar tense after encounter arrest

Sensex breaches 7200 mark

Ratan Tata's term extended till 2012

Karunanidhi refutes Jayalalithaa's charge

``Rashid's house was used for arms storage''

ISRO ties up with ESA for moon mission

Water level in Tibet reservoir recedes

Property attached