CUTTACK: A Division Bench of the Orissa High Court, comprising Chief Justice V Gopalagowda and Justice BN Mohapatra, on Monday adjourned hearing to Thursday on the writ appeal filed by Orissa Private Engineering Colleges’ Association (OPECA) challenging the judgment on AICTE regulation on minimum qualifying marks for appearing in counselling for admissions into engineering colleges in the State. The single-judge Bench of Justice SC Parija last month had upheld the norms of AICTE for admission of JEE engineering empaneled students. Justice Parija had observed that there was no reason to interfere with the decision of AICTE fixing the minimum qualifying marks at 45 per cent for appearing in the counselling for admission as such decision was with the purpose of admitting the eligible students in various categories of branches of engineering. The AICTE had increased the qualifying mark to 50 per cent earlier following which three writ petitions were filed challenging such a decision on various counts. It was alleged in the writ petitions that such increase in the qualifying mark was not only illegal and arbitrary but also caused serious hardships to aspirants as no prior intimation was given before taking such a decision. However, during pendency of the writ petitions, AICTE reduced the qualifying mark to 45 per cent in PCM which was held to be proper by the court. In the present appeal, the petitioner has challenged the judgment on the ground that such fixation of qualifying marks was not applicable to the students empaneled by the JEE.
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