HC issues notice on MDS admissions

Chennai: A writ petition has been filed in the Madras high court to direct the Union and state governments to appoint a special committee to en­quire into the alleged irr­egularities in the admission of candidates for MDS courses in the private self financing institutions for the academic years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 and take action against the erring officials under appropriate civil and criminal laws.

Justice V. Dhanapalan before whom the petition filed by K. Badrin­ara­y­a­nan of Anna Nagar came up for hearing, ordered notice to the Union and state governments and posted to January 21, further hearing of the case.

According to Badrin­ar­ay­anan, by virtue of the directions of the Su­p­re­me Court, the state govern­me­nt constituted a co­m­m­ittee to regulate-mo­ni­tor admissions of stu­dents to professional courses by self-financing min­ori t­y/n­on-­m­i­­nority medical and paramedical colleges.

The committee was mandated to ensure fair, transparent and non-exploitative admissions of students to the professional courses for the seats filled by the private self-financing institutions in accordance with law.

As per the revised MDS Course Reg­u­l­­ations, 2007 issued by the Dental Council of In­d­ia, it was clear that the m­i­n­imum eligibility mar­ks for seeking admission to PG dental courses shall be 50 per cent for general ca­tegory and 40 per cent for the candidates belonging to SC and ST.

It also clearly holds that no insti­tu­­tion shall admit stude­nts more than 50 percent of the total approved nu­m­ber of seats. The state go­vernment/university sh­all admit students for the remaining 50 percent of the said seats, he added.

He said while so, admissions pertaining to the MDS courses for the academic years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, were done in excess of the 50 per c­e­nt management quota in co­nnivance with the off­i­c­i­­als and even candidates who have not secured mi­ni­m­um eligibility were ad­mitted to the courses and the same was appr­ov­ed by the committee and its chairman Justice (ret­ir­ed) A Abdul Hadi.