HC sets aside counselling for SC/ST seats in medical courses in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 24

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday set aside counselling for ST/SC seats in medical courses in Chandigarh. 

A Division Bench of the High Court also ordered fresh counselling. The order came more than a month after a student alleged that residents of other places coming to Chandigarh only to do their plus two became entitled to 85 per cent reservation both in their own state and UT for admission to medical courses. The act, she had claimed, was detrimental to the interest of the bonafide city residents.

Taking up the petition filed against the UT Administration and other respondents by candidate Sabhya Kamal through counsel Abhinav Gupta, the Bench of Justice Mahesh Grover and Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu had on a previous date of hearing made it clear that admissions in the SC category, of which the petitioner was a member, would be subject to outcome of the writ petition.

In her petition, Kamal had prayed for directions to the UT Administration to formulate a proper eligibility/domicile criterion for candidates seeking admission against reservation of 85 per cent provided for state quota/UT pool.

Kamal had also sought the quashing of a clause in the eligibility criteria and admission procedure for 77 UT pool seats, which reads: "The candidates should have passed 12th standard examination (qualifying examination) from school/colleges recognised by Chandigarh Administration and situated in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, as regular student of said school/college."

Dubbing it as illegal, arbitrary, illogical and unfair, senior advocate Girish Agnihotri and Abhinav Gupta added it did not fulfil the objective for which was incorporated and had no rationale with the object sought to be achieved by it.

Directions were also sought for staying admission process in Chandigarh during the pendency of the present writ petition as the final merit list was to be uploaded on June 26 and first counselling was scheduled for July 2.

Gupta added the objective of providing 85 per cent reservation for bonafide residents was basically to ensure that the candidates were able to get admission within their own state without having to go elsewhere.

Gupta submitted the prospectus for admission in Chandigarh was absolutely silent on the issue of a bonafide UT Chandigarh. It simply provided for admission to any candidate who happened to do his/her 12th standard from any school recognised by Chandigarh Administration and was located in UT.

"The issue is very serious in nature as it tends to create an unfair competition between candidates who are bonafide residents of UT Chandigarh and candidates who only happens to do their 12th standard from Chandigarh just in order to take advantage of reservation provided for bonafide residents of Chandigarh," Gupta asserted.