MAHA P. & ORS. A v. THE STATE OF KERALA & ORS.

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court
Hon'ble Judges: Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud
A S Bopanna
Judgment Date: 2022-07-22
Court Decision / Holding: The Miscellaneous Application is disposed of with the above clarification: the Court holds that the issue of any extension beyond 2 March 2022 is not for determination in these proceedings and may be decided in appropriate proceedings on its own merits.
Final Disposition: Miscellaneous Application disposed of with clarification on time-extension for attestation cure dates; the court notes that the extension issue is not to be decided in this proceeding and may be resolved on merits elsewhere.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

THE STATE OF KERALA

Respondents

MAHA P. & ORS.

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

•

Counsels for Respondents

• Haris Beeran
• Mushtaq Salim
• Usman Ghani Khan
• Azhar Assees
• G Radha Shyam Jena

Case Synopsis & Summary

This Supreme Court decision arises from Miscellaneous Application No. 1242 of 2022 in Civil Appeal No. 3654 of 2022, concerning NEET-UG admissions and the transfer of seats reserved for the NRI quota in private medical colleges in Kerala to the unreserved category. The matter stems from Kerala High Court proceedings and prior Supreme Court orders. The Court’s May 18, 2022 judgment recorded that the Government had issued orders permitting NRIs to cure defects in attestation by March 31, 2022, a statement aligned with the Single Judge’s April 4, 2022 order. The State of Kerala subsequently filed a Miscellaneous Application seeking modification, contending there was no extension beyond March 2, 2022 and that the last date was 2 March 2022, arguing that the March 31 extension record would cause confusion and trigger further High Court proceedings. In response, the Court, by an order dated July 22, 2022, held that the question of any extension beyond March 2, 2022 was not a matter for determination in these proceedings and may be decided on its merits in appropriate proceedings. The MA was disposed of with this clarification, and the decision cites consistency with para 10 of the April 4, 2022 Single Judge judgment, preserving the record for resolution elsewhere.

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The State of Kerala contends that the May 18, 2022 judgment incorrectly records an extension allowing NRIs to cure attestation defects by March 31, 2022. It moved for modification to state that there was no extension beyond March 2, 2022 and that the last date was 2 March 2022, arguing that the extension would cause confusion and potentially trigger further High Court proceedings. The modification seeks to correct the record and ensure alignment with the actual deadlines, so as to avoid misinterpretation and preserve the integrity of earlier orders.

Contentions of Respondents

Not explicitly stated in the provided excerpt. The text records the State’s request for modification and the Court’s clarifications, but does not reproduce the respondents’ detailed submissions in this MA.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

817 [2022] 6 S.C.R. 817 ## MAHA P. & ORS. A v. THE STATE OF KERALA & ORS. Miscellaneous Application No. 1242 of 2022 **==> picture [10 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** B (Civil Appeal No. 3654 of 2022) JULY 22, 2022 ## **[DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD AND A S BOPANNA, JJ.]** _Education/Educational Institutions: Medical admission — NEET-UG – Matter pertaining to transferring of the seats reserved for the NRI quota in private medical colleges in the State of Kerala to the unreserved category – Order by this Court to the effect that the Government had issued orders permitting NRI candidates to cure defects in attestation by 31[st] March 2022 – Instant application for modification by the State of Kerala stating that there was no extension of the date for curing defects in attestation until 31st March 2022 and the last date was, in fact, 02nd March 2022 – Held: Issue as to whether there was any extension of time beyond 02nd March 2022 not a matter for determination in the proceedings before this Court – Thus, the issue may be decided in appropriate proceedings on its own merits._ C D E CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Miscellaneous Application No. 1242 of 2022 in Civil Appeal No. 3654 of 2022. F From the Judgment and Order dated 08.04.2022 of the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in W.A. No. 485 of 2022. Haris Beeran, Mushtaq Salim, Usman Ghani Khan, Azhar Assees, G Radha Shyam Jena, Advs. for the Appellants. Nishe Rajen Shonker, Ms. Anu K. Joy, Alim Anvar, Sayid Marzook Bafaki, Advs. for the Respondents. H 817 818 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2022] 6 S.C.R. A The following Order of the Court was passed: ## **O R D E R** 1. In paragraph 2 of the judgment of this Court dated 18 May 2022, it has been recorded that the Government had issued orders B permitting NRI candidates to cure defects in attestation by 31 March 2022. This statement appears to be consistent with the facts set out in para 10 of the judgment of the Single Judge dated 4 April 2022. 2. The State of Kerala has moved the application for modification stating that, as a matter of fact, there was no extension of the date for C curing defects in attestation until 31 March 2022 and the last date was, in fact, 2 March 2022. Mr Nishi Rajen Shonker, learned counsel states that the above sentence in the judgment of this court has given rise to another proceeding in the High Court. 3. The issue as to whether there was any extension of time D beyond 2 March 2022 was not a matter for determination in the proceedings before this Court. The issue may, therefore, be decided in appropriate proceedings on its own merits on the basis of the record. 4. The Miscellaneous Application is accordingly disposed of with the above clarification. E Nidhi Jain Miscellaneous Application disposed of. F G H