STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. ASHOK KUMAR GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHAT may 'appear' to be equal treatment accorded in obeisance to the equality doctrine embodied in Article 14 of the Constitution in its application in 'reality' may result in denial of equality and may accordingly be liable to be condemned for defying the equality doctrine. This has been illustrated by the provision embodied in Ordinance No. 278-E(d)(ii) of the Ordinance of University of Rajasthan which provides for uniform addition of 5 Per Cent marks to the students applying for admission to the postgraduate course in any one of the five Medical Colleges provided the student has passed his final MBBS Examination from the College to which admission in post-graduate course is sought. The said provision has been held to be unconstitutional and in our opinion the conclusion reached by the High Court is right though the reasoning which has commended itself to this Court is somewhat different.

(2.) THREE Writ Petitions were instituted in the Rajasthan High Court, (Jaipur Bench) by the Writ Petitioners who sought admission to post-graduate courses in the Colleges affiliated to the Rajasthan University. There are five such Medical Colleges at five different centres in Rajasthan, viz. Jaipur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer. It appears that for the purpose of securing admission to these Colleges the applicants seeking admission have to appear at a competitive examination called PMG. The passing of this Examination is a pre-condition for securing admission to the PMG course in any one of the aforesaid five Colleges in Rajasthan. The PMG competitive examination is 'common' for all the five Medical Colleges. There is one syllabus and one combined examination is conducted by the University. The successful candidates are entitled to addition of 5 Per Cent marks in the percentage of aggregate marks by way of institutional preference if the concerned candidates had passed the final MBBS Examination conducted by the Rajasthan University. A further addition of 5 Per Cent of marks by way of institutional preference in the sense of preference dependent on the particular Medical College at which the concerned candidate has passed his final MBBS examination is also provided. It is this college-based institutional preference which has given rise to the present controversy. Such preference is rooted in the impugned provision namely Ordinance 278-E(d) which deserves to be quoted:-

(3.) AN analysis of the data reflected in the aforesaid statement and its impact on the fortunes of the students aspiring for the Post-Graduate Courses reveal: