PRANAY NIJHAWAN Vs. GGSIPU AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants complain that the learned Single Judge, who dismissed their writ petition, fell into error in concluding that pooling of all seats leftover State seats as well as others, without any institutional preference and their filling-up on merit basis, was impermissible. They contend that all such seats can be pooled for the purpose of "counselling" to fill postgraduate medical seats, in Delhi.

(2.) The appellant filed W.P.(C) 8145/2017, challenging the eligibility criteria prescribed by the University of Delhi and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), which permitted institutional preference/reservation in their post-graduate (MBBS/BDS) courses. The basic argument was that institutional counselling was illegal; the seats in these post-graduate courses should not have an institutional reservation; seats in the post-graduate courses should be open for all residents of Delhi. The writ petitioner contended that under Article 9A of the Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, the eligibility criteria on the basis of which counselling to post-graduate medical seats can be conducted has to be on the basis of the merit list of a National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). It is pointed out that, no doubt, the NEET Examination has been formulated which is at an all-India level and the petitioner had qualified in the NEET Examination besides graduating in the MBBS from the Delhi University, the institutional preference criteria followed by the said Universities (Delhi University and GGSIPU), i.e. a 50% institutional preference is available in their respective institutes for students who have graduated from each such University was an illegality. It was argued that the petitioner too should have been permitted to participate to get benefit of the seats available in the post-graduates courses of the GGSIPU as well.

(3.) During pendency of the writ petition, the appellant was given admission, which he took, to the Maulana Azad Medical College; he, however, states that this was without prejudice to his rights, because the course offered is a post-graduate diploma.