Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday stayed a single judge order whereby a circular of Uttar Pradesh government, relaxing the system of negative marking for ST and SC candidates in PG medical entrance examinations, was quashed.
A Division Bench comprising justices Prakash Chandra
Verma and Ram Autar Singh passed the interim order on a
special appeal of the Uttar Pradesh government challenging the
May 20 order which had quashed the circular whereby a
provision was made for adding marks, deducted because of
negative marking, to the final tally of SC/ST candidates.
The April 6 circular had stated "sufficient number of
reserved candidates were not available for filling up all the
vacant seats...Thus the government had taken a decision that
for SC/ST candidates, the marks deducted by negative marking
shall be added to the marks obtained by them for determining
their eligibility".
The court had set aside the circular, which was issued
much after the exams, observing "if a decision for negative
marking has been taken prior to the examination, such decision
can not be altered after the examination is held".
The court had also ruled that counselling be held on
the basis of the results declared on March 4 without taking
into consideration the impugned circular.
Passing its interim order today, the division bench
said "the matter shall be heard in detail tomorrow".
PTI
