SECRETARY SELECTION COMMITTEE MADRAS Vs. DR R RAJESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question that arises for consideration before us is in a very narrow compass. THE respondent herein after completing M.B., B.S., course, joined Government service and was posted as Assistant Surgeon in Government Upgraded Primary Health Centre at Kelamangalam, Denkanikottai Taluk, Dharmapuri District. He worked there till May, 1992. He was selected for diploma Course in Opthalmology which he completed successfully. He was posted as Assistant Surgeon at Government Upgraded Primary Health Centre, Perambakkam, Chengalpatu District. Desirous of pursuing his further education in Post Graduate course M.S., (Opthalmology), he applied for joining 1993-1994 session on 7.3.93 under the Service Category. THEre were ten seats in the course, out of which five were reserved for Service Category and five were to be taken from the Open Category. According to the Prospectus, the quota will be filled up only on the basis of merit, duly following the rule of Reservation and the Open Quota must first be filled up. Th e petitioner was given the Registration No. 141120 for Entrance Examination. THE results ought to have been published on 3.4.93 as specified in the Prospectus. THEre were some challenges of the results and ultimately, the revised list was published on 20.3.94. According to the said list, eight candidates were selected for admission. In the advertisement made in ?THE Hindu? dated 20.3.94, containing the list of selected candidates, the following statement is found:

(2.) FOR the next academic year, viz., 1994-1995, the Selection List was published in "The Hindu" dated 18.7.94. Nine candidates were selected for the course, four of them in the Open Category and five in the Service Category. According to the advertisement, 19% seats were not filled up in the previous year, in view of the Supreme Court verdict and they had been allotted for the current year viz., 1994-1995 in addition to the candidates for the current year. Thereafter the respondent wrote a letter on 18.8. 94 to the Selection Committee that he is in the waiting list for Selection List to M.S., (Opthalmology) in the Service Open Quota Category. According to the said letter, as the results were not declared fully and seats were kept pending, he was fully eligible to get admission if the reservation was restricted to 50% as per the Supreme Court's direction. He requested for accommodating him to pursue his Post Graduate course in M.S., (Opthalmology) and intimate selection to him. There was no response. He filed the Writ Petition on 22.8.94. It was taken on file as W.P. 14905/94. The Writ Petition was admitted on 24.8.94 and notice was ordered in the interlocutory petition W.M.P. 22511/94 in which he had prayed for a direction to the respondents to reserve a seat in M.S., (Opthalmology) for him till the disposal of the Writ Petition. The prayer in the Writ Petition is for issue of mandamus directing the respondents to admit him under the Service Category either directly or by creating a seat in the event of all the seats having been declared filled up. In the affidavit in support of the Writ Petition, his contention is that he is No. 1 in the waiting list in Service Open Quota and as there were vacancies in the course he had to be admitted. The affidavit does not set out how in law the petitioner can claim to be entitled to a seat in the course for 1993-1994 session. It should be remembered that the Writ Petition itself was filed only after the list for 1994-1995 was published, even though in the list for 1993-1994 which was published in March, 1994 the petitioner's name did not find a place.

(3.) ON 10.3.95 learned counsel for the respondent (Writ Petitioner) would appear to have mentioned before the learned single judge that a clarification was necessary in the order passed on 24.2.95 and sought a direction to call the matter in the afternoon on the same day. Notice would appear to have been given to the Government Advocate and the matter was heard after lunch on that day. The following order was passed by the learned Judge: "In W.P. No. 14905 of 1994 on 24.2.1995 I passed the order. The last portion of the order reads as follows: