MIR ROSHANIBEN JASUBHAI Vs. ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In both these petitions challenge is levelled against the Government Resolution dated 13-1-1987 providing for district-wise selection of candidates for admission to Diploma in General Nursing at the nursing schools being run at the headquarters of various districts in the State of Gujarat.

(2.) Additional Director, Health and Medical Services, Gujarat State - respondent No.1 herein, published an advertisement on 13-7-2001 inviting applications for admission to Diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery Training Course to fill in 370 seats in 9 nursing schools in different districts of the State. Admissions are to be granted on the basis of the marks obtained at the HSC examination. The advertisement was for granting admissions for the academic year 2001-02. The petitioners also applied for admission to the said course for Sabarkantha district. The petitioners' grievance herein is that although the petitioners had obtained 75.83% and 77.83% marks respectively at the HSC examination, their names were not included in the merit list for Sabarkantha district. The petitioners were left out by a narrow margin in the quota reserved for Socially and Educationally Backward Class candidates (SEBC) in Sabarkantha district. Several candidates belonging to SEBC communities who had obtained less marks than the petitioners at the HSC examination were included in the merit lists for other districts. For instance, in Banaskantha district (in Palanpur) admission was given to student with 71% marks. In Surendranagar district, admissions stopped at 65/66%, in Rajkot, at 68% and in Bhuj at 65%. The petitioners' case is that such an anomaly has occurred on account of preparation of district-wise merit lists instead of State-wise merit list. It is submitted that only merit should be the criterion for admission to Diploma in General Nursing course and there should be State-wise merit list for each category like SEBC, SC, ST etc. otherwise candidates with higher marks will be left out in their own districts and less meritorious candidates will be included in the merit lists of other districts.

(3.) At the hearing of these petitions, Mr Japee has raised the following contentions:-