Maharashtra CET cell can’t alter schedule fixed by SC: Bombay HC rejects academic calendar 2023-24

NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court has rejected the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) cell’s academic calendar 2023-24 proposing September 15 as the last date for admissions to management and technical programmes. The high court was hearing a plea filed by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) asking the court to direct the cell to follow the Supreme Court guidelines on admissions and to include AIMS Test for Admissions (ATMA) as an eligibility for admission to MBA, MMS courses.

On inclusion of the ATMA exam, the bench consisting of Justice G S Patel and Justice Neela Gokhale noted that the cell has already included the exam in its notification from last year, therefore, it is not required to take a decision on this issue.

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“The State CET Cell cannot alter the schedule fixed by the Supreme Court. Paragraph 46.2 of the Parshvanath case forbids any such attempted change. Therefore rejected the Academic Calendar for 2023-24 submitted by Maharashtra CET Cell, which had proposed 15th September 2023 as last date of admissions to the courses. Since this violates the Supreme Court deadline of 15th August 2023, the Hon. Bench disallowed this unilateral change in the admission process, which violates the Parshvanath case guidelines,” the court observed.

Management admissions schedule

The association argued that the admission schedule has been ‘fluctuating’ since the last four years and has affected students, parents and management institutions as recruitment and placement cycle is affected. “The ATMA Test conducted by AIMS is designed to provide all India access to Management hopefuls, especially those who are at times handicapped by the State Entrance Exam schedules. Now, with the issue of the order of the Bombay High Court, students, parents, management institution and society as a whole will heave a sigh of relief from uncertainty and inordinate delay suffered earlier,” it explained.

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AIMS further said that the court direction will help streamline the admission process for management courses and provide relief to academia and industry which wait for fresh management graduates.