PRAJESH KANTI KOTHAWALA Vs. COMPETENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) These appeals relate to admission to the MBBS Course for the 1997-98 session in the various medical colleges in the State of Maharashtra. Admission to medical colleges in the said State is made on regional basis. The admission is governed by the rules issued by the State Government which provided for preparation of the merit list on the basis of the marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry and Biology in the Board examination. In the private medical colleges there were merit seats as well as payment seats. On the basis of their position in the merit list the appellants were offered merit seats in seven private medical colleges out of which five were recognised colleges and two were non-recognised colleges. The appellants did not choose to avail the said offer of merit seats. They opted for payment seats in Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Vidyasagar, respondent No. 2 herein. Subsequently, some vacancies occurred against merit seats in the said college and the appellants claimed that on the basis of their position in the merit list they should have been considered for admission against those merit seats. The grievance of the appellants is that without considering the claim of the appellants for admission to those merit seats which became available subequently admission has been given to respondent No. 4, Ms. Meenakshi Panth, against a merit seat in respondent No. 2 even though she is at a lower position than the appellants in the merit list. Feeling aggrieved by the said admission of respondent No. 4 and denial of admission to them against merit seats in respondent No. 2, the appellants filed separate writ petitions in the Bombay High Court which have been dismissed by the impugned judgments dated October 10, 1997.

(3.) Shri Uday Umesh Lalit, the learned counsel appearing for the appellants, has placed reliance on Rules 9 and 10 of the Rules governing the selection process. The said Rules may be reproduced as follows:-