Another petition filed in UPPGMEE

LUCKNOW: Another writ petition in relation to the UP Post-Graduate Medical Entrance Examination (UPPGMEE) 2003 was filed at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday. This time the petitioners are 15-odd candidates, who did their MBBS from outside UP being selected through 15 per cent quota of the All India CBSE pre-medical/ dental examinations.
They have prayed before the court to grant them a relief as they have fulfilled the eligibility criterion as per the information brochure of the UPPGMEE-2003, organised by the Chhatrapati Shashuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU).
Filed by advocate KS Pawar on behalf of the candidates, the petition is listed for hearing on April 21.
The petitioners were denied allotment of seats on April 16 during the UPPGMEE counselling, which was postponed by the medical education department without taking up any case following stiff opposition from the candidates.
According to medical education department officials, the CBSE candidates were denied allotment of seats as per the interim order of a bench of the Allahabad High Court which said that candidates who had not done their MBBS from the list of colleges contained in the information brochure form would be permitted to undertake counselling, but no seats would be allotted to them without permission of the court. However, the counselling had to be postponed due to confusion and the interim order was sent to the law department for its advice, they said.
Another interim order was passed by a Lucknow bench of the high court on April 10, which restricted the allotment of seats to candidates who had done their MBBS from private medical colleges from outside UP.
Both interim orders had in response to writ petitions filed by some unsuccessful candidates who had cited a Supreme Court order delivered on December 19 in Magan Malhotra versus Union of India. They had challenged the eligibility of the candidates, who were domicile of UP, but had done their MBBS from colleges outside UP.
However, the CBSE candidates in their writ petition have said that the SC judgment on Magan Melhotra case was being reviewed by another constitutional bench of the SC.
These candidates also alleged that the earlier two interim orders of the Lucknow and Allahabad benches of the High Court had been misinterpreted by the medical education department and have pleaded before the court to direct the medical education department to allow allotment of seats to CBSE candidates.