Court orders 8 seats in MBBS, BDS courses to be kept vacant

Updated on: Sunday, August 29, 2010

Ordering that eight seats in MBBS and BDS courses at government medical colleges be kept vacant, a Division Bench of the Madras High Court has requested a single Judge to dispose of eight writ petitions at the earliest.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, gave the common judgment while disposing of appeals filed by government authorities against an interim order of a single Judge.

The writ petitioners' case was that in the biology examination of the Higher Secondary course, full marks were not awarded for a question despite giving the right answer. The key to the question was not correct. But, the descriptive answer written by the petitioners was right. Therefore, they were entitled to full marks. The petitioners relied on a decision by the Madurai Bench where writ petitions were allowed and direction for re-evaluating the answer sheets was issued.

The single Judge had directed that the eight seats be kept vacant subject to the outcome of the decision in the writ appeals against the Madurai Bench's decision. The present appeals are against this order.

Additional Advocate-General P. Wilson submitted that the decision on a batch of writ petitions before the Madurai Bench was confirmed by the Division Bench there on August 10. It had not considered a recent decision of the Supreme Court. The court should not embark upon the exercise of re-evaluating the answer sheets. It could not take up on itself the task of statutory authorities, more particularly when the question related to Biology.

Mr. Wilson said the Division Bench in Madurai had awarded the full five marks to all the writ petitioners. This would open the floodgates of litigation as more than 1.25 lakh students took the Plus Two examinations.

The authorities had preferred review of the order passed in the appeals in Madurai. Hence the single Judge's interim direction to reserve eight seats should be vacated.

V. Ragupathi, petitioners' counsel, contended that the Madurai Bench's order in the appeals had settled the issue. Hence the writ appeals should be dismissed.

The First Bench observed that the writ petitions could not be disposed of solely by relying on the Division Bench judgment. Due opportunity should be granted to either side to make their submissions. Therefore, the Bench requested the Judge to hear the writ petitions.

Counselling for MBBS and BDS courses was in progress. In such a situation, if sufficient safeguard was not given to the writ petitioners, in the event of their success, the relief itself would become infructuous. However, the writ petitioners were not entitled to seek admission against the eight seats during pendency of the petitions.

Court orders 8 seats in MBBS, BDS courses to be kept vacant

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