High Court declines to pass interim order on engg counselling plea

Chennai: The Madras High Court today declined to pass any interim order on a petition to stay the single window counselling for admission to engineering courses in Tamil Nadu's self-financing engineering colleges. The petition was filed by Anna University Self-Financing Engineering Colleges Management Association, Tirunelveli.

Declining to pass any interim order on the plea, Justice K Ravichandra Baabu asked the petitioner's counsel, "How can you intend to interfere with the rights of the government?" The court orally observed that the plea cannot be entertained. The judge directed the respondent authorities to file a reply on the same and adjourned the matter for hearing, to next week.

On June 22, the court had directed the counsel of Anna university to reply to the petition seeking the stay on single-window counselling on the ground that a large number of seats have remained unfilled in the last few years. The petitioner wanted various colleges to be allowed to fill the seats on their own. The petitioner had contended that Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission process conducted by the university had lost its purpose and become impractical in view of large number of seats remaining unfilled in the past few years.

He had further submitted that the TNEA process gives no time for educational institutions to fill the lapsed seats which are returned to colleges and that every vacant seat casts an irreconcilable financial burden on the institute. Apprehending vacancy of over one lakh seats this year, the petitioner had made a representation to the state government on June 7 for permitting private colleges to fill seats on their own.