The Hindu : SC directive to private medical college in T.N.

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Wednesday, Jul 09, 2003

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SC directive to private medical college in T.N.

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI July 8. The Supreme Court has permitted the Meenakshi Ammal Trust, Chennai, to fill 75 per of the seats in dental, medical and paramedical courses in the institutions run by it from among the Telugu speaking minority community and 25 per cent seats to be filled by the State Government under its reservation policy.

This order was passed last week by a vacation Bench, comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice Brijesh Kumar, after hearing counsel for the Trust, Rajendra Choudhary and S. Nandakumar.

The Trust challenged the State Government's order stipulating that in the institutions run by them, 40 of the seats be filled through the single-window system of admission and the remaining 60 per cent under the reservation policy.

According to the Trust, this year it had been granted permission by the Centre to admit students for the medical college. But because of the May 14 Government Order it could not fill seats of its own in the various colleges run by it.

In its interim order, the Bench said the allotment of seats shall be from out of the list prepared by the State Government based on the entrance test already conducted by it and in accordance with merit. If, for any reason, the seats available to be filled up by the Telugu speaking minority community were not exhausted for want of qualifying candidates from out of the merit list prepared by the State Government, then the same might be filled up by the Trust but strictly on merit. In its petition, the Trust contended that the Government had no right to compel the college to fill 40 per cent of the seats through SWS as it would constitute gross interference with the rights of the institution as a private, unaided, minority college. It also sought a direction to quash the Government Order dated May 14 and the consequent letter dated May 24.

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