Jamshedpur, June 19: The division bench of Jharkhand High Court, comprising Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyay and Justice R.K. Marathia, today deferred the final judgment in the case of aspiring engineering students’ admission to various NITs across the country to August 22. Earlier on May 9, the division bench had declared that the final judgment in the case would be delivered on June 19.

According to sources, as the proceedings started, Justice Mukhopadhyay enquired whether all the aspiring engineering candidates had been accommodated in NIT.

On getting the feedback that the managements of all the 17 NITs had given provisional admission to those who had cleared the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Examination 2002 and that the managements of these NITs would begin classes for the aspiring engineers from August 4, the Justice fixed August 22 as the day for final judgment.

When contacted, petitioners’ lawyer Rajiv Ranjan said the decision of the division bench to defer the final judgment date to August 22 was a strategic victory over the ministry of human resources development, New Delhi which had prevented budding engineers from the state to seek admission to the NITs.

“All those who had competed in the JCCEC-2002 have been admitted in their respective NITs and the ministry of human resources development will not like to approach the apex court once the classes begin,” said the lawyer.

NIT, Jamshedpur’s acting director Prof. Akhileswar Mishra and advocate P.K. Prasad represented the ministry during the hearing.

Meanwhile, the desk officer in the MHRD in New Delhi, VK Ray hinted that

they would

take a positive stance on the JCCEC' candidates' admission issue. On

being contacted over

the telephone, he said, ``We have changed our stance in the case pending

at the Jharkhand

high court but our final decision on the issue would depend on the

judgement made by

the Jharkhand high court.”

The NIT, Tiruchanapalli was the last institute to accept the JCCEC

candidates. The

petitioner, Anirudh Chatterjee told The Telegraph that the NIT,

Tiruchanapalli on June 6

got four JCCEC candidates enrolled in the institute. Earlier, NIT,

Suratkal had accepted

four candidates from the JCCEC on May 29.

Anirudh Chatterjee and Sourya Singh, residents of Hazaribag and Ranchi

respectively had

filed a writ with the Jharkhand high court in January after the MHRD

stopped the

meritorious competing the JCCEC from taking admission in the NITs for

allegedly

inordinate delay in the counselling.

eom