By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday declined to stall the ongoing admissions to Tamil Nadu's medical colleges, but agreed to examine a student's petition that she might be denied admission in view of the state's quota regime despite clearing an entrance exam.
A bench of Justices B.N. Agarwal and P.P. Naolekar refused to stay the ongoing counselling for admissions to medical colleges. It, however, said the final admission would be subject to the outcome of the hearing over S. Swathe's petition.
The bench also issued notices to the Tamil Nadu government, besides the selection committee of the state's Directorate of Medical Education and the Tamil Nadu Private Medical Colleges Association.
Swathe sought the court's intervention to ensure a seat for her, fearing she might be denied admission to a private medical college despite being reasonably high in the merit list.
She pointed out that as per the state's quota policy, the private medical colleges were forced to surrender 65 percent of their seats to the state government for admitting students belonging to the schedule castes, schedule tribes and other backward classes (OBCs).
Swathe said in July 2006 she had secured 177th rank out of the 350 aspirants declared successful in the common entrance examination of the state's private medical colleges.
But soon after the declaration of the result, the private medical colleges surrendered 65 percent of their seats to the government, jeopardising her chances of getting admission, Swathe added.
She sought a direction to the state government not to force the private medical colleges to admit students of weaker sections of the society at the cost of students figuring in the merit list of the successful candidates in the entrance examination.