ASHWIN ANUPAM BHIDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner and his father are overseas citizens of India and are U. S. citizens residing in India. The Petitioner passed the H. S. C. examination with 74.6 % marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The Petitioner applied for admission to the First Year degree course in engineering at the College of Engineering in Pune on the basis that he is a ward of a non -resident Indian. On 30 June 2012 a provisional merit list was published by the First and Second Respondents. The Petitioner failed to secure admission in the first round of counseling. In the second round of counseling, the Petitioner had an option to seek admission against a vacant seat in five branches out of nine at the institution. Since the Petitioner did not seek admission against the vacant seats which were available, students though lower in merit than him were admitted against the vacant seats.

(2.) THE grievance of the Petitioner arises out of the rules for admission framed by the State Government. 15% of the total intake capacity is set apart for foreign nationals / foreign students / persons of Indian origin / children of Indian workers in the Gulf countries / wards of NRIs. Clause 6.2 of the rules provides that out of this, 1/3rd of the seats shall be reserved for children of the Indian workers in Gulf countries, while the balance 2/3rd will be reserved for PIOs / foreign nationals. Seats remaining vacant out of the 1/3rd category shall revert to the quota of 2/3rd meant for PIOs / foreign nationals. According to the Petitioner, the State should have prepared two merit lits, one for children of workers in the Gulf countries (representing 1/3rd of the 15% quota) and another for foreign nationals / PIO/ foreign students / wards of NRIs (representing 2/3rd of the 15%). In the present case, it is urged that the State asked for the willingness of applicants who were the children of Gulf workers to accept seats against the NRI quota which carry a higher fee. As a result, according to the Petitioner the seats which were available for PIO/ foreign nationals / foreign students / wards of NRIs were reduced and the Petitioner could not find admission.

(3.) AN affidavit in reply has been filed in these proceedings by an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the College of Engineering, Pune. The All India Council for Technical Education has framed guidelines for admission for the First Year of the four year full time degree course of engineering. The Approval Process Hand Book 2012 -13 issued by the AICTE contains the following provision: