PG medical seats: High Court fiat to deemed varsities, KRLMPCA

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday restrained deemed universities (DUs) and the Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges Association (KRLMPCA) from admitting students to the 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the total postgraduate medical seats that they were supposed to “surrender” for the allotment under the “government quota”. The court also asked the DUs and the KRLMPCA to adhere to the “undertaking” given to the State government for “surrendering” 20 per cent and 25 per cent PG seats respectively, while availing various facilities for the medical colleges run by them.

Any admission made by these institutions for the PG seats, which they were supposed to surrender to government quota, would be subject to the outcome of the petition, the court made it clear.

Meanwhile, the court also asked the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges in Karnataka (COMEDK) to adhere to the consensual agreement dated March 10, 2014 to provide 33 per cent of seats for allotment under government quota in PG courses in other private medical colleges.

A Division Bench comprising Justice K.L. Manjunath and Justice Ravi Malimath passed the interim order even as the State government contended that “it cannot enforce 25 per cent reservation for government CET/PGCET student quota with respect to DUs”.

The Bench passed the order, while hearing a petition filed by PG seat aspirants Raghavendra M. Nalatawad and others. The petitioners alleged that the government was not taking any action against these institutions even after they “violated the undertaking given to the State government to surrendering the seats”, while obtaining various facilities and certificates.

In his affidavit, N. Sivasailam, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare (Medical Education) stated that with respect to the deemed universities going back on the commitments given to the government at any stage earlier, the department was seeking legal advice. He, however, said that government could not enforce 25 reservation of seats with respect to DUs.

However, the Bench noticed that the State government in June 2010 had taken a decision to grant no-objection certificates to DUs for enhancement of PG and UG seats in medical colleges, subject to the DUs surrendering 25 per cent of seats. “We are of the view that the government is entitled to demand 25 per cent of seats…,” the Bench observed.