The Hindu : Deemed varsities: SC rejects UGC plea

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Tuesday, Apr 30, 2002

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Deemed varsities: SC rejects UGC plea

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI April 29 . The Supreme Court today rejected an application from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to permit it to hold a common entrance test (CET) for admission to the deemed universities in Tamil Nadu for 2002-2003 through the deemed universities.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice G.B. Pattanaik, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice Brijesh Kumar, however, permitted the UGC to use the premises of the deemed universities as venues for holding the CET. The Bench made it clear that there was no need for clarifying or modifying its March 7 order that the CET should be conducted under the direct supervision and control of the UGC.

When senior counsel for Tamil Nadu, K.K. Venugopal, submitted that 85 per cent of the total seats available in the deemed universities in the State should be earmarked for students of Tamil Nadu and that the State Government should be permitted to make admissions by following the rules of reservation, the Bench asked the State to file a separate application in this regard.

In its application, the UGC had submitted that the Apex Court while passing an interim order on March 7 on special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the UGC and deemed universities (against a judgment of the Madras High Court) had said that the UGC would conduct an all-India entrance test either by itself or through another agency approved and endorsed by it but not through any one of the deemed universities.

The UGC submitted that it should be permitted to use the infrastructure facilities of the deemed universities for conducting the entrance test under its direct control and supervision as it would avoid a great deal of inconvenience to the UGC as well as to the students.

The Bench also dismissed applications filed by some of the deemed universities in Tamil Nadu, to allow them to conduct all-India entrance tests of their own for the academic year 2002-2003.

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