A Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy has decided to hear all impleadment applications on the basis of merit of the matter. The matter pertains to the NEET examination and the petitioner's contention that the committee set up by the State for the purpose of ascertaining whether the NEET-based admission process has prejudicially affected socially backward students may fly in the face of the Supreme Court orders passed in such regard. (K Nagarajan v. Union of India and ors).
Factual Background
The Petitioner is the General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Tamil Nadu, Karu Nagarajan. He supported his plea by citing the Supreme Court order passed on August 22, 2017, and the observation therein which were to the effect that,
“the State of Tamil Nadu shall not make any kind of distinction or discrimination between the examinations conducted by various Boards, and admissions shall be effected as per the result of the NEET examination. Yet the State formulated the Committee. Aggrieved by which, the petitioner filed PIL under Article 226 of the Constitution of India before this Court."
Court Reasoning & Judgment
The Court raised its concern because several third parties, who have applied for being impleaded. The Court is of the view that it is completely unnecessary to implead all the applicants in such regard.
Since the matter is of some importance, from political parties to pressure groups to citizens having experience in the field, there are several persons who want to have a say. All applicants who have filed impleadment applications will be heard on the merits of the matter.
The State says that it is ready to proceed with the matter. The Union says that its counter-affidavit should be before the Court in the next two or three days. The Union's counter-affidavit should be filed by July 8, 2021.
The Court expressed that,
“It will be open to the applicants in the impleadment applications to obtain copies of the petition and counter-affidavits from relevant advocates by e-mail.”
Case Details
Case:- W.P.No.13384 of 2021
Judge: Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
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