HC directs inspection of college's records in NRI admissions

HC directs inspection of college's records in NRI admissions

September 10: The Bombay High Court has directed the inspection of six engineering colleges based in and around Mumbai seeking exemption from the restrictions imposed by its June 30, 2000 order on the Non Resident India (NRI) quota in engineering college admissions.

The six colleges under the banner of Association of Management of Unaided Engineering Colleges on Wednesday joined as intervenors before the bench of Justice A P Shah and Justice V C Daga. The bench is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the irregularities of admissions in the name of NRI quota. The court by its June 30, 2000 order had disallowed the increase in the quota from 5-15 percent and also disallowed admissions of non-NRI in the NRI quota without following the merit list.

The six colleges comprise the Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Datta Meghe College of Engineering, M H Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and S S Jondhale College of Engineering. These colleges have also sought exemption from advertising the remaining seats after admitting genuine NRI in the allotted 5 percent quota.

The bench questioned the claims of the Association that admissions in its colleges were made before June 20 or even June 30, 2000. The court noted the fact that the application itself admits that out of the 22 admissions effected by Shah and Anchor College only one is ``actual NRI.'' The bench pointed out that the news about irregularities in NRI admissions and the petition had hit headlines in the second week of June. Therefore the colleges cannot claim ignorance of the fact that the courts were seized of the matter, it observed.

The bench said additional advocate P Janardhanan had been specifically directed on June 22, 2000 to convey the court's interim orders to minority engineering colleges. Three minority colleges are part of the Association. The court has directed the Forum for Fairness in Education and other petitioner's to carry out an inspection of the applications forms, payment details and relevant documents received by these six colleges for NRI quota admissions and submit a report before September 15, 2000 the next date of hearing.

Gulshan Kumar murder case:- The Bombay High Court has suo moto converted into a petition a letter seeking bail written by Mohammad Ali Shaikh, approver in the sensational Gulshan Kumar murder case.

Approver Mohammad Ali Shaikh in a letter dated September 29, 2000 addressed to HC Registrar has said he was forced to seek pardon by the police who has foisted a lawyer on him and made him sign a blank paper. Shaikh wrote this letter a week after he was denied bail by Justice Vishnu Sahai. The petition will once again be heard by Justice Sahai on October 5, 2000.

Sixty-year old Shaikh has asked for a withdrawal of the pardon granted to him. He alleged that he was beaten by top police officials and forced to become an approver in this case. Shaikh stated,``Due the hardships faced by me and my family I am caught in a difficult situation. At this rate I am likely to go mad.'' Shaikh he agreed to become an approver only because the police paid his family Rs 5000/- on three occasions. The police also promised to give him a taxi in return for becoming an approver, he stated. He added that the police had promised to release him in eight days if he agreed.

He said on September 18, 2000 he was produced before the magistrate's court where he could not open his mouth out of fear. He was granted two days time. When he was produced before the same magistrate again he found it difficult to speak. The magistrate ordered that he should be kept apart from the fellow-prisoners in Thane jail. He said the officials came to meet him in jail and foisted upon him a lawyer R Mokashi.

He said on October 27, 1997 he was produced before a magistrate. The next day he was asked to make a disclosure of what he knew in the case. He said he repeated to the magistrate what the cops had tutored him to say. He said he also deposed that two pistols were recovered from his possesson.