CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has made it clear that it cannot direct the Puducherry government to provide a medical seat under the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) of Puducherry to a Villupuram resident who passed the NEE T (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) from a Puducherry School. The court upheld the singlejudge order and observed that if allowed, several students living in villages along the border would claim seats in a similar manner.
The issue pertains to Manikandan, a resident of Villupuram who studied in Puducherry and secured the 111th rank on the list released by the Puducherry government, and had not appl ied for an MBBS seat.
According to the petitioner, since his school was located in Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu government rejected his application; and considering the location of the student’s residence, the Puducherry government said he is not eligible to apply under CENTAC.
The petitioner challenged the order of the single judge who dismissed the plea. The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthil Kumar Ramamoorthy, after hearing the submissions made by the counsels, said such students cannot apply under the 7.5 per cent reservation of the TN government.
The judges also accepted the State’s submissions, made by Special Government Pleader Manoharan, that if the petitioner is allowed under the reservation, it would result in students from villages along the border applying to the State under the quota.