AP seeks HC nod on ‘A’ seats

The government on Thursday requested the AP High Court to permit it to issue a notification to fill up engineering seats under category ‘A’ for the academic year 2013-14.

Advocate-general A. Sudarshan Reddy made a mention regarding this when a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice G. Rohini was hearing petitions filed by private engineering colleges challenging online admissions.

Apparently not inclined to concede the request of the government, the Bench went ahead with the hearing.

Earlier, the Bench stayed the admissions to management quota ( B category) seats into engineering colleges as per the plea of private engineering college managements. Supreme Court senior counsel L. Nageswara Rao who was appearing for the petitioners said that admissions for ‘A’ and ‘B’ category seats would take place simultaneously.

He contended that the government has no power to regulate the 30 per cent management quota by amending the rule of the AP Unaided Non-Minority Professional Institutions.

The guidelines issued by the government for filling up category ‘ B’ seats online were contrary to the judgements of the SC. He urged the court to set aside GO 66 dated September 3, 2012.

Senior SC counsel P.P. Rao arguing for some of the petitioners said that if the management quota was allowed to be filled up by the government by implementing the substituted Rule then great injustice would be done to the managements. Arguments will continue on Friday. The AP High Court on Thursday directed the state government to file counter affidavit on writ petitions challenging the action of officials in not enrolling petitioners, including contesting candidates, as voters in panchayat raj elections.

Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by individuals seeking directions to officials to enroll them as voters and to exercise their franchise in polls.