ORDER 1. The son of the petitioner in this writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has applied for admission to the Engineering course in the Engineering Colleges in the State of Karnataka. Such admission is governed by the Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Engineering, Medical and Dental Courses Rules, 1997, hereinafter referred to as "the Rules". Under the Rules 15% seats falling in the payment category are reserved for non- Karnataka students. The son of the petitioner has applied for admission as a non-Karnataka student. The Rules provide for holding an entrance test for determination of merit and thereafter counselling a is held in two rounds, viz., the Preliminary Round and the Admission Round. The grievance of the petitioner is that counselling for the purpose of admission for non-Karnataka students is fixed in November 1997 after both the rounds of counselling for Karnataka students is completed which means that it will be held nearly four months after the results are declared. In this re. d the petitioner has twofoid grivne; (i) As a result of the delay in counselling for non-Karnataka students the seats in the preferred courses in better colleges would be made available to Karnataka students and only the remaining seats would be available for non-Karnataka students; and (ii) On account of the delayedcounselling many non-Karnataka students may not wait for their chance to get admission in a college in Karnataka and may opt for admission in some other States that becomes available in the meantime and as a result the seats in the quota for nonKarnataka students would be made available for being filled by the management of the college. 2. Notice was issued on the writ petition to the respondent and in response to the said notice a reply has been filed. Shri Nagaraja, the learned counsel for the respondent, has also placed before us the seat matrix issued by the State Government indicating the allotment of seats in various courses in the Engineering Colleges prepared in accordance with Rule 13 of the Rules. 3. The said seat matrix shows that 15% seats for non-Karnataka students in each course in each college have been set apart and non- Karnataka students would not suffer in any way on account of delayed counselling. The first grievance raised by the petitioner is, therefore, unfounded. 4. 3. The said seat matrix shows that 15% seats for non-Karnataka students in each course in each college have been set apart and non- Karnataka students would not suffer in any way on account of delayed counselling. The first grievance raised by the petitioner is, therefore, unfounded. 4. It appears that there is some merit in the second grievance of the petitioner in the sense that on account of the schedule fixed for counselling whereunder counselling for non-Karnataka students is taken up after both the rounds of counselling for Karnataka students are completed, it is quite possible that some of the non-Karnataka students may not wait for a chance for admission in Karnataka and may opt for admission in courses offered to them in a college in another State. It would have been preferable if the dates for the counselling for the preliminary round for the non-Karnataka students had been fixed immediately after completion of the counselling for preliminary round for Karnataka students. As per the schedule the counselling for the preliminary round for non-Karnataka students is fixed after the counselling of the preliminary round and admission round for Karnataka students is completed and consequently the counselling for the preliminary round for non-Karnataka students has been delayed by a month. Since the schedule for counselling for the current year has already been fixed and such counselling is already in progress, we do not consider it appropriate to disturb the said schedule for counselling for this year. It is, however, directed that in future the schedule for counselling should be so fixed that the counselling for the preliminary round for non-Karnataka students is taken up immediately after the counselling for preliminary round for the Karnataka students is completed. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly.