Govt challenges HC order on 7.5% quota seat for student

Madurai: The Madras high court on Monday ordered notice on an appeal preferred by the state government challenging the January 7 order of a single judge to provide medical seat to a student from Thanjavur under 7.5% quota, holding that the aided school where he studied, is a government school as it was managed by the district administration.

A division bench of justice M M Sundresh and justice S Ananthi observed that since the counselling was completed and a seat was allotted, it is open to the student to join the course. The judges directed the student, D Arun to file a counter and adjourned the case to February 22 for further hearing.

It may be recalled that Arun had filed the petition seeking to admit him in a medical course under the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy on a preferential basis to students of Government Schools Act, 2020.

His request seeking bonafide certificate that he studied in a government school was rejected by the chief educational officer on the ground that the school was aided.

Hearing the petition, a single judge said that the Rajah’s higher secondary school at Thanjavur district in which the petitioner studied is presently managed by district administration.

The judge had said that based on the previous order of the court, the petitioner during counselling was allotted MBBS seat in Sivagangai Medical College. Since the court held that the school in which the petitioner studied is a government school within the meaning of Section 2(c) of the Act, the seat allocation made in favour of the petitioner is made absolute. tnn