Karnataka HC quashes KEA note on 2020-21 PU students
Bengaluru, Sep 3: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday quashed a note issued by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) by which second year pre-university exam marks of students from the 2020-21 batch was not considered for rankings in entrance to professional courses.
For students of 2021-22 batch, the usual 50 per cent Common Entrance Test marks and 50 per cent second year PU marks were considered. But for students of the 2020-21 batch, only the CET test marks was considered as per this note.
The KEA's rationale for not considering second year PU exam marks of 2020-21 students was that they were promoted based on internal marks as exams were hampered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The single-judge bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar quashed the July 30 note of the KEA and directed it to redo the entire rank list after considering 50 per cent PUC marks and 50 percent CET marks of all students.
The court, quashing the note said, considering PU second year marks as 'nil' "would lead to and result in absurd consequences which cannot be countenanced in the facts and circumstances of the instant case."
The KEA note was found illegal on several counts. The provision made for CET ranking in 2020-21 cannot be extended to 2021-22, the court said.
The court also said the July 30 note is contrary to the KEA's own bulletin. The "impugned note is contrary to the principles of legitimate expectation and promissory estoppel and the same deserves to be quashed," the court said.
The court, during an earlier hearing, had suggested a compromise formula where 75 per cent CET marks and 25 percent second year PU marks would be used to compute the CET rankings. The KEA, though, was not open to such a compromise.
On Saturday, the court upheld the petition by scores of students in 10 different petitions and quashed the KEA's note. Now, the entire CET ranking for entrance to professional courses has to be redone on the 50-50 formula.
This year, there were around 24,000 students from the 2020-21 batch who were relating their appearance for the CET exams. These students who passed PUC in 2020-21, writing the CET in 2022, approached the High Court.
"The non-consideration of qualifying marks of repeater students while determining the merit/rank in KCET, 2022 is violative of the CET-2006 Admission rules and has an effect of deterioration of ranks thereby causing grave injustice as it is prejudicial, unfair, inequitable and against the principles of natural justice," the petitioners had claimed.
Advocate Shathabish Shivanna, who fought the case on behalf of the students, said more than 24,000 students would benefit from the judgement.
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Extensions in service setback to those who are in line: Vice President Dhankhar
Bengaluru, Jan 11: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Saturday that extensions in service, in any form for a particular post is a setback to those who are in line.
Dhankhar was delivering the inaugural address at the 25th National Conference of Chairpersons of State Public Service Commission being held in Bengaluru.
According to him, extension of service indicates that some individuals are indispensable.
"Indispensability is a myth. Talent abounds in this country. No one is indispensable. And therefore, it lies in the domain of public service commissions at the state and the central level that when they have a role in such kinds of situations, they must be firm," added the VP.
He also said public service commissions' appointments cannot be driven by patronage, or by favouritism.
"We cannot have a public service commission Chairman or a member, wedded to a particular ideology or an individual. That will be undoing the essence and spirit of the framework of the constitution," said Dhankhar.
The Vice-President also frowned upon post-retirement recruitment and said it is antithetical to what was visualised by framers of the Constitution.
"In some states, it has been structured. Employees never retire, particularly those in the premium services. They get a number of ad-hoc nomenclatures. This is not good. Everyone in the country must have due and that due is defined by law," said the VP.
The VP also said fairness of selection has no meaning if paper leakages occur.
"Paper leakage has become an industry, a form of commerce. This is a menace that must be curbed," he added.
He commended the initiative the government has taken in this regard, with the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024.
The Vice President is also of the view that although it is "India's century", without a "calm political atmosphere" India will not really gain.
A vitiated political climate is far more dangerous than the climate change we are facing, he pointed out.
"Our polity at the moment is too divisive, too polarised. Interaction is not taking place at the premium level in political organisations."
The solution, according to him, is harmony in polity.
"Harmony is imperative. If there is no harmony in polity, if the polity is polarized, deeply divisive, with no communication channels functioning, imagine you are in an earthquake, you are lost and you have no connection with the outside world, things will be terrible for you," he added.
He also said for India to stand strong, we need strong institutions.
"Any institution, if it is weakened, the damage is to the entire nation. Weakening of an institution is like a prick on the body. The entire body will be in pain," said Dhankhar.
To build strong institutions, he added, states and Union governments must work in tandem.
"They must be in synergetic mode. They must be in sync with one another when it comes to national interest," said the VP.
Noting that discussion is deeply rooted in our civilizational ethos, the Vice President urged senior leadership for all political parties, irrespective of their ideologies, to "enhance dialogue, believe in consensus and always be ready for deliberation".
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was also present on the occasion, said Public Service Commissions are pillars of democracy, upholding meritocracy and fairness, and contributing immensely to governance.
"Karnataka has a rich history in public administration, starting with the Mysore Civil Services (MCS) examination initiated by Dewan Sir K Seshadri Iyer in 1892. This pioneering step set the foundation for a cadre of distinguished administrators, a legacy Karnataka continues to uphold with pride," he added.
He said tackling challenges such as paper leaks remains a top priority for Karnataka today. He also said learning from the best practices of other states and leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence will make recruitment more transparent and corruption-free.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot; Chairman of UPSC Preeti Sudan and Chairman of Karnataka Public Service Commission Shivashankarappa S Sahukar were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
