Harsha Shettigar, the petitioner (incidentally, a well-known member of the PaGaLGuY community with the identity HarshaRocks) contended that the CAT 2009 online test was a failure due to the mala fide administration and consequent infringement of the legal rights of the candidates of CAT 2009. The petition names the CAT Convenor, IIM Bangalore Director and Principal Secretary, Union Human Resources Development Ministry as respondents. A decision on admitting or disposing the petition is likely to be taken in a couple of days.
Update, January 7: The High Court today admitted the petition and issued notices to all the three respondents named in the petition. Siji Malayil, the lawyer representing the petition told PaGaLGuY that the hearing in the matter is likely to be held next week. (By admitting a PIL, a court recognizes that the contention made in the petition could indeed be a matter of concern for the general public and deserves to be heard further. A lot of PILs are disposed of by courts in the beginning itself, especially when the court feels that they might have vested interests behind them or if the matter of contention is not grave enough to be a public concern.)
Prof Satish Deodhar, CAT Convenor and one of the respondents in the petition refused to comment on the PIL saying, “I am currently not in Ahmedabad so do not have much knowledge about the PIL. Once when I will be back in campus, I will go through it and discuss it with the (IIM) Director. Only after that will I be able to say something on the matter.”
Read the full text of the petition below or here.
PIL filed in Karnataka High Court against CAT 2009 exam failure