Kerala - Kochi

‘Ineligible students admitted to MBBS’ High Court round-up

Kochi: The Medical Council of India (MCI) on Monday told the Kerala High Court that four self-financing medical colleges had admitted some ineligible candidates to the MBBS courses for 2007-08 academic year and that it had asked the managements to discharge them from the college.

In an affidavit filed in response to a writ petition complaining about irregularities in the admission procedure, the MCI said that Amala Institute of Medical Sciences and Jubilee Mission Medical College, Thrissur, Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, Kolencherry had admitted 18, 5, 24 and 7 ineligible students respectively to the course.

While the Kolencherry college admitted seven students who did not belong to SC/ST/OBC to the reserved seats, the students admitted by other colleges did not have the minimum percentage of marks prescribed by the MCI in the qualifying examination as well as the common entrance test. The MCI had stipulated that only those students who had obtained 50 per cent marks in physics, chemistry and biology in the Plus Two course and also 50 per cent marks in the common entrance test could be admitted to the MBBS course. The managements were asked to remove these students from the college. The norms for minimum marks were laid down to ensure that meritorious students did not face any difficulties during admission process. Besides, the MCI had made it clear that there should not be any admission of students over and above the sanctioned intake capacity of any medical colleges. The council did not allow colleges to carry forward MBBS seats which had remained vacant the previous year.

Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan on Monday directed the Superintendent of Police, Malappuram, to file a report regarding the incident in which ballot papers were allegedly burnt down during the election to the Anakkayam Service Cooperative Bank.

The direction came on a writ petition filed by the UDF member, Moideen. According to him, though there were sufficient ballot papers to replace the burnt ones, the returning officer refused to proceed with the election process.

The order of the Chief Electoral Officers rejecting a petition seeking to prosecute Eravipuram MLA, A.A. Azeez, for allegedly filing a false affidavit along with his nomination papers during the last Assembly election was challenged before the court.

The petition was filed by M. Nizam of Kollam.

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