Orissa Odisha PG Entrance : Supreme Court (SC) stays contempt order against DMET

Orissa Odisha PG Entrance : Supreme Court (SC) stays contempt order against DMET

From http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-07/bhubaneswar/31033042_1_contempt-petition-full-marks-apex-court

BHUBANESWAR: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Orissa high court’s contempt proceedings against director medical education and training (DMET) and another senior officer in the post graduate entrance test goof up case.

“Acting on a special leave petition, the apex court stayed the Orissa HC order. The matter will come up for hearing after four weeks,” Odisha’s standing counsel Suresh Tripathy told TOI. The bench of Justice H L Dattu and Justice C K Prasad issued the stay order, he said.

The HC had framed charges against DMET P K Das and PG (medical) selection committee convener Dr Santosh Kumar Behera on January 10 for non-compliance of its order of awarding full grace marks to medical students for 38 questions, which had spelling mistakes, in the PG entrance test, 2011-12. A division bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra had found “willful” violation of the court order by the officers.

To a petition by medical PG students, the HC had asked the DMET to award full marks for the mistakes. The court issued the order after taking into consideration views of an expert committee about the mistakes.

The DMET, however, gave the aspirants pro-rata marks, following which students filed a contempt petition accusing the officers of violating the court order. The HC found the officers prima facie guilty and framed charges.

Tripathy said there are multiple petitions in the case. While some students have moved the HC for implementation of its order of full marks, some of those who have been selected on the basis of pro-rata marks and have been pursuing their study for the past six months, have filed a petition in the apex court. On the latter’s plea, the SC had earlier ordered a status-quo in the matter.