Southern States - Kerala   

House blasts HC verdict on admissions

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM FEB. 18. The entire Kerala Assembly today criticised the High Court's rejection of the Government plea that it be allowed to enforce a 50:50 ratio in admissions from the management and merit quota in the newly-started private self-financing professional colleges.

Launching a stinging attack on the High Court, the Government, the Opposition and the Speaker accused the judges of having thrown the principle of social commitment to the winds.

The Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, said the verdict had saddened every right thinking person in the State. "I see this verdict as a setback for the entire people of Kerala and one that has been pronounced overlooking the ground reality in the State,'' the Chief Minister said.

The Speaker, Vakkom Purushothaman, said the verdict showed that judges had lost the sense of social commitment and the principle of social justice.

"The court has no authority to make laws. Its job is to interpret laws enacted by the Legislature. But they want to rule. This is a very unfortunate situation. The Government must take a strong stand on this issue,'' he said.

The CPI(M) deputy Legislature Party leader, K. Balakrishnan, said the verdict showed that the judges had no social commitment or knowledge about the State's social context. The Government, he said, should not give in to `the traders in education.'

Mr. Balakrishnan, who later led an Opposition walkout to protest against the Government's failure to go in for legislative measures to checkmate the private managements, alleged that the Government was pleading innocence after actively colluding with the managements. The manner in which the Advocate-General and his team had handled the case before the High Court was marked by gross ineptitude bordering on complicity with the managements, he said.

Legislation hinted

The Chief Minister said that there was no question of the Government bowing to pressure from the managements. He hinted at the possibility of the Government enacting a law and having it incorporated in the Ninth Schedule to thwart the designs of the private managements. He described as a `betrayal' of trust the managements' decision to go to court on the admission issue.

The Government had issued NoC to all applicants on the express understanding that they would be satisfied with 15 per cent management quota and 15 per cent NRI quota. Later, this was raised to 50 per cent. This too was accepted by the managements of all self-financing professional colleges except the Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla, and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Medical College, Kolencherry. "There is no question of the Government bowing before these traders in education. Kerala must rise as a man to show these traders their place,'' Mr. Antony said.

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