STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Justice Tashi Rabstan of J and K High Court Jammu Wing on Monday disposed off the petition filed for quashing the Notification No.15-BOPEE of 2015 dated 23rd April, 2015 and Notification No.12-BOPEE of 2015 dated 10th April, 2015 issued by the J and K Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) notifying the dates for counseling of professional courses to the extent of candidates having qualified against the Open Merit/Reserved Category seats for allotment of MD/MS and PG Diploma seats in Government Colleges and in ASCOMS, with the direction to BOPEE, to strictly comply with the mandate of Rules 15 and 17 of the Reservation Rules in maintaining the ratio of 65:35 and allotting the seats to reserved category candidates as per the past practice/precedent. “While doing so, the respondents would also take into consideration the latest judgment of the Apex Court”, the court further observed.
However , the Court also observed that it is to be seen that allotment of MD/MS and PG Diploma Seats in Government Colleges in terms of counseling is yet to be done, therefore, it would be premature to allege that BOPEE is not following the mandate of Rules 15 and 17 of the Reservation Rules, that too when Controller of Examinations, BOPEE has specifically deposed that there would be no defiance to Rules 15 and 17 of the Reservation Rules while allotting seats to reserved category candidates in terms of Rule 17 and maintaining the ratio of 35 per cent in terms of Rule 15.
Justice Tashi Rabstan after hearing Advocate Abhinav Sharma appearing for the petitioners and Deputy AG P.S Chandel appearing for the state while Advocate Anil Sethi appearing for the BOPEE, observed that the specific case of petitioners is that the respondents are not maintaining the ratio of 65:35 in terms of Rule 15 of the Reservation Rules while initiating the selection process for provisional admission to various MD/MS and PD Diploma Courses. Their further stand is that the respondents are also not adhering to Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules and the interest of reserved category candidates is not being protected by them while notifying the dates for counseling of these professional courses. Whereas, the specific stand of BOPEE is that there was no defiance to Rules 15 and 17 of the Reservation Rules, the same are being followed in their true spirit, as proportionate division of seats for each discipline has already been made in the ratio of 65:35. They have also took a specific stand that in case any of the reserved category candidates overshoots his category and starts figuring in open merit, he is given an option of selecting disciplines/streams/colleges of his choice either from the open category or from his own reserved category in terms of Rule 17, and the resultant seat(s) is being kept untouched/intact until the counseling for the reserved category candidates takes place. It has also been pleaded by them that in view of the latest judgment of the Apex Court, the Rural Service Category has been held to be not a reserved category and along with the objections, the respondents in order to belie the claim of petitioners, have also annexed the list of 61 candidates who have availed the benefit of Rule 17 and who have been allotted different MD and PG Diploma Courses. They have also stated that they would be providing nine more candidates in the order of merit. JNF
