SF case blows over; third allotment not yet clear

It was a strange development in the day. The petitioners, who had approached the Kerala High Court seeking a direction to the government to make allotment by the CEE to the merit seats of the private self-financing engineering colleges after August 14, on Thursday withdrew their petitions saying that they had got their higher options and the colleges preferred.

Hearing the petition the Kerala High Court had on Augusrt 13 prevented the self-financing engineering managements from filling the merit quota seats that would fall vacant after August 14, on their own.

Justice V Giri had passed the order while hearing the petition filed by Perinadu Naduvilayil Santhini S Lal and Adoor native S Aisha that questioned a clause to this effect in the agreement between the Kerala Government and the Kerala Private Self-financing Management Association.

The petitioners had questioned the clause in the agreement that after August 14, by when the proceedings related to the second allotment come to a close and classes begin, the managements concerned would have the right to fill up the vacant seats in the 50 per cent merit quota.

The petitioners said that they hadn’t got their choices in the engineering segment even after the second allotment and due to the above mentioned clause in the agreement they would be denied further allotment and would be out of the merit quota admission process. This argument by advocate V.P.Seemanthini, who appeared for the petitioners, had been accepted prima facie by the court.

However on Thursday, Seemanthini appearing for the petitioners, informed the court that the two petitioners had got their higher order options and the colleges of their choice. However, it was not clear from the court proceedings how the two got admissions, which left a few questions unanswered.

Sources in the Entrance Commissionerate said on Thursday that there are more proceedings to be completed to start the third counselling, with the government giving NOC to 18 new engineering colleges after closing the option registration for the second allotment. Whether 50 percent seats of these colleges will come under the purview of the third allotment or not is the confusion that is gripping the Entrance Commissionerate now, it is learnt.