P S MANOHARAN Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner after completing his B.D.S. Course at Mahatma Gandhi Government Dental College, Pondicherry wanted to join M.D.S. Course in Tamil Nadu Dental College. According to petitioner, his father Paul Surendra is a native of Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District, having born and brought up there. He was also educated in that place, and has been working in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. Therefore, he is a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu.

(2.) In the prospectus to M.D.S. course, one of the requirement was production of permanent residence certificate. Candidates who have studied from 9th standard onwards and have undergone under-graduate course in Tamil Nadu are exempted from producing such certificates. A format is also issued in the prospectus. According to petitioner, since he is eligible to get admitted, he filed application along with a certificate issued by the competent authority that he is a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu. The Tahsildar, Vanur issues a permanent residence certificate on 17-3-1998 stating that petitioner is a permanent resident of Vanur Taluk, Villupuram District. It is his case that petitioner was staying in Vanur Taluk at the time of making his application. Taking into consideration the nativity of his father, who is employed in Pondicherry, Tahsildar issued the certificate. Petitioner got admitted into the course and he began to attend the classes from 1-6-1998.

(3.) Some of the students who have not been selected to M.D.S. course filed a writ petition before this Court, in which petitioner was not a party. In that writ petition, a representation was made by the Government that they have received representations from some quarters about some of the candidates, who do not satisfy the permanent residence condition, though they have filed certificates. The complaint was that the candidates have filed bogus certificate about their permanent residence. Petitioner on getting information about the pendency of writ petition subsequently came to know that his admission was sought to be cancelled on the ground that permanent residence certificate produced by him is not genuine, and the same does not reflect the real state of affairs. Government also seemed to have passed an order on 31-8-1998 cancelling his selection.