The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions, by its secretary in Anna University, to pay Rs 10 lakh towards compensation to a student for denying admission in architecture course in 2017. She was denied admission despite removal of a particular rule stipulating a pass in National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA).
Justice R Subramanian, who gave the direction while allowing a writ petition from V Amrutha, also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on him. The judge held that the secretary is solely responsible for the petitioner being denied a seat in Bachelor of Architecture course for 2017-2018.
“I am of the considered opinion that the second respondent (secretary) should be made to compensate the petitioner. Such compensation cannot be decided with mathematical precision, but if the Court reaches the conclusion that the authorities had not only acted in ignorance but had acted in willful violation of the orders of this Court, the compensation should definitely be more,” the judge said. “The petitioner has been denied of an opportunity, despite the fact that she had approached this Court and was favored with a reasoned interim order,” the judge further said.
“In view of the above, while condemning the second respondent for his outrageous and inexplicable conduct, I direct the second respondent to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the petitioner,” the judge said. The compensation shall be paid within four weeks, failing which the amount will carry an interest of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the order passed by the earlier judge in 2017, the court said.
The Council for Architecture, by an order passed in June 2017, had removed the condition of a pass in NATA. Despite this, the secretary insisted on the same and denied admission to the petitioner.
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