RAGUBATHY PAUL ROSLAN Vs. UNDER SECRETARY EDUCATION MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS STUDENTS CELL NEW DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner herein is a Malaysian citizen holding a malaysian passport. He had passed the Malaysian Certificate of education at kualalampur. THEreafter he joined the second year of the Higher Secondary course in St. Bede's Higher Secondary School, Madras and passed the Higher Secondary Examination conducted by the Department of government Examinations, Madras. THEreafter the petitioner applied to the Government of India for admission in the Regional Engineering College , Tiruchirapalli as a self-financing foreign student for one of the seats reserved for foreign students in the Engineering College in India at the undergraduate level. THE Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India which is to nominate candidates for the seats reserved for foreign students in the various Colleges in India nominated the petitioner on 23rd July, 1981 as a candidate for admission in the quota reserved for foreign students in the Regional engineering College, Tiruchirapalli after scrutinising all such applications. THE petitioner accepted the nomination and reported to the Registrar of the Regional Engineering College within a week from the date of his nomination. However, the Registrar asked the petitioner to come after a week as the Principal was not then in station. When the petitioner went to the College after a week, the Principal told him that he will be informed later as to when he should join the College. Again when the petitioner contacted the Registrar he was told that his application has been rejected on the ground that he had passed the qualifying examination in India and that only those who had passed the qualifying examination in a foreign country are eligible for selection. He was also told that his application has been sent back to the first respondent on the ground that the petitioner did not have the qualifying examination in a foreign country. THE petitioner has, therefore, approached this Court for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the second respondent to admit the petitioner in the Regional Engineering College , Tiruchirapalli for the academic year, 198 1 -82 in pursuance of the nomination made by the first respondent.

(2.) THE learned Government Pleader appearing for the second respondent has justified his action in not admitting the petitioner as against reserved seats for foreign students on the basis of the selection made by the first respondent on two grounds: (1) That the petitioner having passed the qualifying examination in India he cannot claim a seat in the quota reserved for foreign students; and (2) that even if the petitioner can claim a seat as against the quota reserved for foreign students, as the petitioner has passed the qualifying examination in a school at Madras, he should be taken to have a domicile in Madras and as such he cannot claim a seat in the Regional engineering College, Tiruchirapalli within the quota of 50% allotted to other states and that he has to seek admission in the Regional Engineering Colleges situated in other States. THE question is whether these contentions raised by the learned Government Pleader are legally sustainable.