This is an archive article published on November 25, 2020
Premium
Bombay HC seeks state govt’s response to plea
The petition sought a direction to the state to formulate a strategy to start the admission process at the earliest, without which it may result in widespread anger, frustration and mental agony among students and their parents.
The writ petition, filed on October 18, stated that while in the past, FYJC admissions commenced soon after the declaration of SSC results, it was delayed this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Observing that several months of the academic year of lakhs of students have already been wasted, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to respond by Wednesday to a plea seeking formulation of a strategy to begin the admission process for FYJC in the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni was hearing a plea by advocate Vishal Saxena – the a parent of a teenager – stating that while the process of FYJC admissions had been stalled due to Supreme Court’s interim stay on Maratha reservation, nearly 2.3 lakh students in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including his daughter, were facing an uncertain future.
Advertisement
The writ petition, filed on October 18, added that while in the past, FYJC admissions commenced soon after the declaration of SSC results, it was delayed this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It further said that after the first round of FYJC admissions was completed, the SC stayed Maratha quota on September 9, bringing the entire process to a standstill.
The petition sought a direction to the state to formulate a strategy to start the admission process at the earliest, without which it may result in widespread anger, frustration and mental agony among students and their parents. The state government submitted that it has been deliberating measures to resume the admission process.
After the state lawyer sought a week’s time to respond to the plea, the bench observed: “Petition was filed last month. We are almost nearing December. Half of the academic year is almost done and wasted. That is the anxiety of the petitioner and over two lakh students. You cannot be delaying the decision. Otherwise, in the short term of nearly five months, the academic year will come to an end. It is a very serious issue. How do they (students) complete the academic term?”
The writ petition, filed on October 18, stated that while in the past, FYJC admissions commenced soon after the declaration of SSC results, it was delayed this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
Share
