Supreme Court refuses to intervene; no change in revised KEAM rank list

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has indicated that it will not interfere in this academic year's KEAM rank list, which was revised as per the Kerala High Court’s order, or the ongoing engineering admission procedures. Considering a petition filed by 12 students from the Kerala state syllabus, the court stated that it does not wish to create uncertainty at this stage.

Although the Kerala government has not filed an appeal against the High Court ruling, the outcome is being viewed as a setback to its stance. The bench, comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar, remarked that the country is already facing a situation where every exam and admission process is being challenged in courts, leading to growing uncertainty.

Since the High Court verdict has not been stayed, the centralised allotment process for engineering admissions can proceed without any hindrance. Admissions will be carried out based on the revised rank list.

The court also stated that it will not examine complaints related to changes in marks or ranks. After the exams, a new formula was introduced to normalise the marks of students from the state syllabus and CBSE. While the legality of modifying the prospectus to implement the formula may be reviewed later, the court pointed out that the amendment was made just an hour before the publication of the rank list.

Government’s stand
Despite a request from the petitioners to issue notice to the Kerala government, the court did not oblige. However, the government’s standing counsel, C.K. Sasi, was instructed to clarify by the next hearing whether the state would pursue an appeal against the High Court's decision. So far, the state has chosen not to challenge the ruling.

Students express concern
Senior advocates Prashant Bhushan and P.S. Sulfikkar Ali, appearing on behalf of the state syllabus students, argued that the amendment in the prospectus was intended to eliminate disparity between state syllabus and CBSE students in the rank list.

On the other hand, senior advocates Raju Ramachandran and Aljo K. Joseph, appearing for CBSE students, submitted that any intervention by the court would seriously impact the future of CBSE students.