In High Court

The division bench of M B Ghodeswar and S Radhakrishnan, however, admitted the petitions filed by Amod Pradeep Khopkar Schedule Caste and Nikhil Shivadikar Schedule Tribe.

Khopkar had secured 33 per cent and Shivadikar 24.75 per cent in the physics-chemistry-biology subjects in the CET. As per the rules framed by the Medical Council of India, reserved category students must secure at least 40 per cent in CET. The students8217; counsel argued that since the state had conducted the CET for the first time, very few students had secured the minimum stipulated percentage. As a result, around 207 reserved category seats are still vacant.

The state should relax the eligibility criteria and direct the authorities to fill the seatsin descending order of merit, or the seats earmarked for backward class candidates will be shifted to the open merit category, and the state government8217;s policy of reservation will be adversely affected, it was argued.

The petitioners also argued that such relaxation of rules has been made in nine other medical courses, except for the MBBS course. Therefore, it was unfair to backward class students applying for the MBBS course.

The petitions gain significance since the second round of admissions in medical colleges of the state start from today.

Ramdas Athawale withdraws plea on symbol

Ramdas Athawale, national president of the Athawale faction of the Republican Party of India, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from the Pandharpur Lok Sabha constituency, today withdrew his petition, urging the Election Commission to change his election symbol from a cart to a railway engine.

The division bench of Justice N J Pandya and R J Kochar expressed their intention to reject the petition,but when Athawale8217;s counsel, Mukesh Vashi, withdrew the petition, the bench permitted it.

Athawale8217;s petition states that his poll prospects will be adversely affected since three candidates, belonging to different other political outfits, but contesting the assembly polls, have been allocated the same symbol of the cart.

His counsel argued that similarity in the symbols can create confusion in the electorate, especially since the polling day September 5 for the Loksabha and assembly constituencies is the same. He contended that candidates of the Loksabha and Vidhansabha polls should be given different symbols.

However, EC8217;s counsel Dhananjay Chandrachud said it was too late as the ballot papers have already been printed.

8211;Newsline Reports