Madurai
The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has asked the State government to take a call as to whether aided schools managed by Revenue Department/district administration can be given the benefit of the Tamil Nadu Act 34 of 2020, in view of the 7.5 % reservation for NEET qualified government school students.
The court was hearing the appeal preferred by the State against the order of a Single Bench that held that an aided school in Thanjavur district came within the meaning of a government school in view of the fact that it was managed by Revenue Department/district administration while allowing a petition filed by a medical aspirant D. Arun of Thanjavur district.
The Single Bench held that the school came within the ambit of the definition of government schools under The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on Preferential basis to Students of Government Schools Act, 2020 as it was managed by a government department.
The State submitted that the school in Thanjavur cannot be termed as a government school and there are other similarly placed schools in the State. A Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and S. Ananthi took note of the State government’s submission and observed that the State should take a call on the issue so that there is a clarity from the next academic year.
Mr. Arun secured a seat at the Government Sivagangai Medical College pursuant to the order of the Single Bench. The court said that it did not want to overturn the relief granted by the Single Bench. The candidate had already joined the medical course and therefore it would not be feasible at this stage to allow the appeal, the court said and disposed of the appeal.
