Admissions of 207 students were processed according to faculty wise reservations
Terming the entire admission process illegal, the high court
on Thursday 12th July 2011, directed Government Law College (GLC) to rework admissions
to all seats in the first year course.
The order followed after judges were informed that admissions of 207 students were
processed according to faculty wise reservations and this was contrary to Mumbai
Universities ordinance and even did not reflect in the college’s prospectus.
Some 33 seats need to be filled. A division bench of Justice D.K. Deshmukh and Justice
R.G. Ketkar, who were initially unwilling to disturb the admissions, were aghast.
There is no justification for such reservations. You will have to rework all admissions.
Put out an advertisement stating that you are converting all final admissions into
provisional admissions, said Justice Deshmukh. He added, your entire law college
is rampant with illegalities and runs on somebody’s whims and fancies.
The genesis for the litigation was after a CBSE student, Swati Khinvasara, challenged
deduction of 5% marks of applicants who have passed their XII standard exams from
any other board except Maharashtra. The court on Wednesday stayed admissions by
a day. Are you dividing seats according to streams asked the judge? Additional government
pleader M.D. Naik replied that the faculty wise reservations were being done under
the recommendation of the local advisory committee set up by a 2004 government resolution
(GR).
The judges asked if it was mentioned in the prospectus. Some law college students
may have drafted the prospectus. What is the point of printing a prospectus and
wasting government money said Justice Deshmukh. The judges termed the prospectus
amateurish.
Khinvasaras advocate, Mukesh Vashi, informed the court the decision was
taken on recommendations of the committee (which includes retired HC judge Justice
D.R. Dhanuka and senior counsel Rafiq Dada) but bears no signatures. The letter gives
an impression that they are party to it. You (state) are misrepresenting them. They
should sue you (state) for defamation, said Justice Deshmukh.
Courtesy: Times of India
