A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday declared unconstitutional and arbitrary the 100 per cent reservation provided to candidates hailing from the State for admission to the postgraduate super-specialty courses in medical colleges for the year 2010-2011.
However, the Bench comprising Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice Bhabhani Prasad Ray did not interfere with the admission made on the basis of the reservation in view of the fact that the classes had already started.
The court ordered that if the Medical Council of India did not provide for the centralised selection for admission to postgraduate super-speciality courses from the next academic year, the State government and the Director of Medical Education would have to frame fresh prospectus providing reasonable reservation for Kerala students on the lines of reservation provided to local students in other States. The Bench also ordered that students belonging to the States where Kerala students were treated equally should be treated on a par with Kerala students in admission to the post-graduate super-specialty courses.
The court also upheld the ten per cent reservation provided for doctors who had done rural service.
The prospectus had said that preference would be given to students of Kerala origin and children of all India Services (AIS) officers (non- Keralites) allotted to Kerala cadre and those who had done MBBS/MD/MS from the medical colleges in Kerala. In case sufficient number of candidates in these categories was not available for admission, candidates from other States would be considered for the remaining seats based on their merit in the entrance examinations.
The court made the declaration while disposing of a batch of writ appeals filed against the single judge's verdict dismissing some of the students challenge against the reservation provision.
Petition dismissed
Justice Thomas P. Joseph on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition seeking a directive to the police to register a crime against P. Sasi, former CPI (M) Kannur district secretary, and investigate the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him.
The petition was filed by T.P.Nandakumar, Editor, Crime fortnightly.
The court said that the High Court had no power under the writ jurisdiction to issue a directive to the police to register a crime. The petitioner could set in motion the proceedings by approaching the Magistrate court concerned which had the power under the Code of Criminal Procedure Code to issue such a directive.
Directive to police
A Bench comprising Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice M.L. Joseph Francis asked the police not to proceed with the investigation to trace Raghavendra Thirtha Swami for the time being, in view of the affidavit filed by him from Tirupati saying that he is on a pilgrimage.
The court had ordered the police to trace Swami and produce him when a habeas corpus petition filed by Jayaprakash Prabhu, Adikari of the Ernakulam Thirumala Devaswom and four others owing allegiance to Sudheendra Thirtha Swami, head of the Kasi Math Samsthan, came up for hearing last time. They alleged that Raghavendra Thirtha Swami was under the illegal custody of his brother and his sister-in-law.
