NAMMI DIVYA THEJA Vs. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KARNATAKA EXAMINATION AUTHORITY COMMON ENTRANCE TEST BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, daughter of an Ex-serviceman on completing her 12th Standard (10+2), a gold medalist in swimming competition having represented the country both at the National and International levels made an application, in the prescribed form, for admission to professional courses for the year 2012-13 declaring to belong to reserved category-II A. In the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the respondent-Karnataka examination authority, for short 'KEA', during the year 2012, petitioner was assigned 8404 rank in the medical list and 9852 in the engineering list and assigned Sl. No. 2 against reservation for Sports Special category. According to the petitioner the declaration to belong to Category IIA was due to inadvertence, though she belonged to category-1 (Yadava), while the request for change of category was orally rejected on the premise that category once declared in the application form cannot be changed. Petitioner asserts that the mistake being due to oversight is curable and the authorities were not justified in denying the change, though was in possession of a certificate in Form No. E declaring to belong to category-1 issued by the competent authority. Hence the petition for a writ of certiorari to quash the acknowledgment Annexure-H and for a direction to: (a) consider her representation dt. 9.7.2012 Annexure-M by treating her as belonging to category-1 and to accept the caste certificate in Form No. E, Annexure-G5; (b) to retain the petitioner's ranking in the list of medical seats by treating her as belonging to Category-I; (c) to consider the petitioner's candidature for medical seat under the reservation for Sports Special category and (d) for such other reliefs as deem fit. Learned counsel for the petitioner reiterates the averments in the memorandum of writ petition to submit that the petitioner having made an application in the form prescribed, for admission, signed by herself and her father declaring to belong to reserve category - II A being a curable mistake, the correction of which if permitted would cause no inconvenience to any of the candidates, much less the process of counselling, but its rejection by the respondent would virtually put an end to the petitioner's efforts in securing a seat in medicine under the reserved special sports category, being assigned SI. No. 2 in that category. Learned counsel makes reference to the instructions in the CET brochure, more appropriately to paragraphs 2 and 4 under the nomenclature 'After Entrance Test', and 'Reservation of seats in favour of certain categories', in support of the submissions.

(2.) Sri. N.K. Ramesh, learned counsel for the respondent-KEA points to clause No. (8) under the heading 'How to fill the Application Form' in the 'CET brochure, to submit that petitioner is informed to furnish the particulars of caste or category and annual income which would remain the same for the purpose of assignment of rank/allotment of seat and that no change will be entertained in future for any reason. So also, it is submitted that the note in the application form states that no change in category, caste or income would be entertained for any reason'.

(3.) According to the learned counsel, the petitioner having declared to belong to Reserved Category - II A, and assigned SI. No. 2 in the Reserved Sports Special Category, coupled with 48.3% marks secured in the total taken together in Physics, Chemistry & Biology subjects in the CET examination, though eligible to apply for a seat in Medical Stream, in terms of Paragraph (3) of the CET Brochure under the nomenclature 'who can apply', nevertheless, failed to produce a certificate issued by a competent authority declaring to belong to Reserved Category II A. Learned counsel hastens to add that petitioner does not fulfill the requirement of 50% of marks taken together, in Physics, Chemistry & Biology in the CET examination for a consideration under General Merit in the light of Rule 3(1)(b)(i) of the Karnataka Selection of Candidates for admission to government seats in professional educational institution rules, 2006, for short 'Rules'.