S R BHUPESHKAR AND Vs. SECRETARY SELECTION COMMITTEE SABARMATHI HOSTEL KILPAUK MIDICAL COLLEGE HOSTEL CAMPUS MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of "seasonal writ petitions" if we may say so, challenges the selection of students for the professional courses in the year 1994-95. Thanks to the spasmodic brain waves of the persons in charge of education in the State, higher education has become a fertile breeding ground for litigation. Aspirants for higher studies with dreams of a bright prosperous future are made to undertake a pilgrimage to the temple of justice with prayers to fulfil their desires. It was only four years ago, the State Government attempted to introduce a system of awarding five bonus marks to applicants for professional courses if they happened to be the first in their families to apply for such admission and there was no single graduate among the members of their families on the day of the application. This Court had no (to) strike down the G.O. as unconstitutional. This year, the Government decided to shower their blessings on sportsmen at all levels by generously awarding grace marks to be added to the marks obtained in the qualifying examinations and issued G.O.Ms. 118 dated 21-2-1994. That is the prime cause of action for these writ petitions. Fifteen of them relate to B.D.S. course and twenty one relate to Engineering course. All the other petitions pertain to M.B.B.S. course.

(2.) These petitions were heard at length by a Division Bench comprising one of us (Raju, J.), and Lakshmanan, J. By order dated 15-11-1994 they referred the matters to a Full Bench on the following reasoning:-

(3.) By the time, the matters were posted before us, the State Government announced that in the matter of reservation, the directions issued by the Supreme Court of India for this year were complied with fully. Therefore, it is agreed by all parties that the question of reservation need not be decided in these cases. The remaining questions which are considered by us are : (A)(i) Has any candidate been selected by implementing. G. O. Ms. 118 dated 21-2-1994? (ii) Is the withdrawal of the G.O. by the Government illegal and arbitrary? (B) Has any fraud been played in the guise of retotalling the marks awarded in the qualifying examinations? (C) Should the marks awarded in the qualifying examinations be totally ignored and fresh selection be directed on the basis of marks awarded in the entrance examination? (D) Has there been any fraud in the valuation of answer scripts in the entrance examination? (E) Is the method of selection contrary to clause 8.2(a) of the Prospectus issued by the Directorate of Medical Education? (F) Is the reservation provided in clause 3.5 of the Prospectus for special categories in Government colleges violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India? (G) Is the allotment of seats in Perundurai Medical College to the wards of employees of the Transport Corporation illegal? (H) Miscellaneous questions arising in some individual cases.