Karnataka HC delivers divergent verdict on pleas of medical students

BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka has delivered a divergent verdict on petitions filed by medical students questioning the procedure adopted by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) in not allowing them to claim vacant seats in other colleges by exiting seats in the present college even though they have better ranks than those who have been provisionally allotted seats in the third round. A division bench of Justice Jayant Banerji and Justice KV Aravind delivered this verdict. Justice Banerji disposed of the petitions filed by Chandana M Chavan and others and set aside the third round of provisional seat allotment list of candidates released on October 24. Justice Banerji directed KEA to conduct the third round of counselling afresh, strictly as per the directions of the apex court in the case of Bhavna Tiwari. Justice Banerji also directed KEA to conclude the two stages of the third round of counselling and declare the final seat allotment list by December 2. However, Justice Aravind dismissed the petitions with a direction to KEA to complete the third round or mop-up round expeditiously in accordance with law. KEA should complete the counselling process of all permissible rounds with an outer limit on or before December 10, he said. Now, the matter will have to be heard by a third judge.