KARMASAD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The dispute, in these petitions, which are filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, relates to admission to Post Graduate Degrees and Diploma medical courses at the medical colleges affiliated to (i) Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, (ii) Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, (iii) Saurashtra University, Rajkot, and (iv) South Gujarat University, Surat.

(2.) Special Civil Application No. 5607/96 is filed as public interest litigation by an Association claiming to be a registered Association of the students undergoing studies in medical courses at Pramukh Swami Medical College, Karamsad, which is affiliated to Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar - Anand, District : Kheda. The main relief claimed therein is that as the rule enabling the above-referred to universities to give preference to their own students in the matter of giving admission to the post graduate medical courses, is unconstitutional, the Universities should be restrained from enforcing that rule and the universities should be directed to consider the students who have passed final M.B.B.S. examination from Pramukh Swami Medical College, Karamsad on merits, while giving admission to post graduate medical courses. In the alternative, the relief prayed for is that the State of Gujarat should be directed to conduct post graduate medical common entrance test for all the students of all the universities located in the State of Gujarat and grant admission to post graduate medical courses on the basis of result of said test or each university should be directed to hold common entrance test for atleast 30% of 75% of seats for the students of other universities located in the State and grant admission to those students, who qualify at the test according to merits.

(3.) In Special Civil Application No. 5898/99, 16 students, who are undergoing medical courses at Pramukh Swami Medical College, Karamsad, claim that the abovereferred to universities should be directed to implement the decision of the Supreme Court in U.P. Junior Doctors' Action Committee and others v. Dr. B.Sheetal Nandwani and others, AIR 1992, S.C. 671 and evolve a common entrance test for admission to post graduate medical courses. They have prayed that the respective rule of the university concerned which enables it to prefer its own students in the matter of admission to post graduate medical courses being violative of principles enshrined in Articles 14 AND 16 of the Constitution, should not be permitted to be enforced.