High Court imposes cost on two dental colleges for wasting its time

The High Court has imposed a cost of Rs one lakh each on two private colleges for wasting the time of the court as well as the time of the co-petitioner students, who were aspirants for BDS seats.

Sri Venkateshwara Dental College, Bengaluru and KVG Dental College, Sullia, had filed two separate petitions along with the students stating that the Karnataka Examinations Authority’s (KEA) website was not opening and hence, the students could not register themselves for the mop-up round.

A division bench, headed by Justice B Veerappa, said that it is only the aggrieved, qualified students in the NEET examination who can approach the KEA for the opening of the website/portal for registration and the representation submitted by the college managements, has no consequence.

Sri Venkateshwara Dental College and Hospital along with two students and KVG Dental College and Hospital along with four students had filed the petitions seeking directions for the opening of website/portal of KEA to enable the registration and permission for admission as well as direction for approval of the admission by the Dental Council of India.

The petitioners submitted that the KEA had issued a schedule for mop-up round counselling for BDS 2021 for fresh registration/payment on May 2 and 3, 2022. However, the KEA’s website was not open and thereby, the students could not register themselves. It was contended that a representation was submitted to the KEA on behalf of the students on May 12, 2022. The KEA had argued that the petitions are mischievous and designed to fill up vacant seats in those colleges.

The court said that the petitioner colleges, being the management, are not the aggrieved parties to address the letter to the KEA, praying to open the website/portal.

“We are bowled over as to how the students come under the ‘care of’ the college of which they are not the students at all. This clearly indicates, only with an intention to fill up the vacant seats, the petitioner colleges have adopted the indirect method of getting an order from the court and therefore, have not approached the court with clean hands. If the petitioner-students were really deprived of the seats to which they were eligible, they would have approached the court, independently, by producing the documents showing the illegality, if any, committed by any of the respondents herein. But that is not the case in the present writ petitions. The colleges cannot step into the shoes of students and file writ petitions,” the bench said.

The court has directed the petitioners to deposit the cost with the Advocates’ Association of Bengaluru.