In a landmark interim direction, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday asked the IIM, Kolkata to accept applications of 10+2+3 academic pattern candidates for admissions into the newly-launched Post Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA) course.
A bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanti and Biswanath Rath issued this direction on a writ petition filed Additional DGP M Nageswar Rao, the father of a likely applicant to the course launched for the first time in collaboration of IIT, Kharagpur, IIM, Kolkatta and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, challenging the present criteria of 10+2+4 pattern education with work experience and personal interview for admission. In his petition, Rao mentioned that the criteria violate the National Education Policy which lays down the 10+2+3 pattern as nationally accepted guideline.
Rao’s counsel Aditya Das argued that such criteria clearly deny the right to be considered for all candidates from the 10+2+3 regime and therefore violates the fundamental rights of a candidate for the PGDBA discipline. Das further argued that the criteria of work experience and lack of any guidelines for conduct of personal interview permits elements of arbitrariness to creep into the selection process and therefore violates enshrined Constitutional mandates of equality and equal treatment before the law.
Senior Advocate Rajat Rath, appearing for the PGDBA office, opposed the submissions of Das and submitted that the writ petition was not maintainable and ought to be dismissed.
However, the HC bench directed the PGDBA office, IIM, Kolkatta, to accept the application the petitioner’s son and directed filing of counter affidavit by the opposition parties by April 24 and posted the matter to April 27 for further hearing and orders. The last date for submission of forms is April 17 and for personal interview isMay 5, 2015.