JAYSHREE Vs. DEAN GOVERNMENT AYURVEDIC COLLEGE NAGPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner sought admission in the Government Ayurvedic College, Nagpur, i. e. the respondent No. 1 in 1991-92 academic session for Post Graduate Courses in one of the six subjects for which the advertisement was issued by the respondent No. 1 Dean on 24-9-1991. In particular, she was interested in admission in the subject of Kayachikitsa in which she was at Sr. No. 4 in the merit list for the said subject. There were two seats in the said subject out of which one was reserved for DTNT candidate and another was for in service personnel. Since the said seat was reserved for DTNT candidate in students category, it was obvious that the petitioner could not get that seat in Kayachikitsa. She had, therefore, preferred the instant writ petition challenging the actual reservation made in the said advertisement and also the policy of reservation adopted by the respondent No. 1 College.

(2.) THE main grievance of the petitioner in this writ petition is that there is an excessive reservation made by the respondent No. 1 College in the above advertisement. At any rate the submission is that applying the principle of rotation, the seat in Kayachikitsa should have been thrown open as the said seat has been reserved since 1989-90, which is not only arbitrary and discriminatory but is violative of the relevant rules about reservation of seats. The learned Counsel appearing for the respondent/college has controverted the above contentions raised on behalf of the petitioner. According to the learned Counsel for the respondent/college no reservation is required to be made in the teachers category as per rules and if any candidate belonging to any of the reserved categories secured admission in the teachers category, it was, in accordance with the rules for admission an admission on open merit basis and not on the basis of reservation.

(3.) TO appreciate the rival submissions, it is necessary to refer to some of the relevant rules for admission. The Rules for Admission to "m. D. Ayurved" Post-Graduate Courses relevant for the academic session 1991-92 are contained in the Government Resolution dated 19-7-1991 as amended by the Government Corrigendum dated 24-7-1991. Rule 5 of the said Rules for admission provides for Reservation of Seats. Clause (a) thereof provides for reservation for candidates who pass the qualifying examination from other States. Clause (b) of the said Rule 5 provides that 50 per cent of the total seats in the Post-graduate Degree/diploma Course in all the subjects taken together for registration available in a year in each College should be reserved for the students of the concerned Government Ayurvedic College as well as the concerned grant-in-aid Colleges in the Maharashtra State and the remaining 50% seats should be reserved for teachers, out of which one seat should be reserved for Non-teaching staff. It then provides that there should be over-all reservation of 34% seats as prescribed by Government for various categories of Backward Class candidates and the admission should be given by rotation during the year as well as every year both categorywise and subject-wise. 3-A. Rule 6 (a) indicates the percentage of reserved seats for each of the backward classes. Rule 6 (b) then provides that the reservation of 24% seats for the three categories of Backward Classes viz. (1) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Castes converts to Buddhism, (2) Scheduled Tribes and (3) Denotified Tribes and Nomadic Tribes shall be exclusive of the number of other students belonging to the said categories who secure admission in open merit. However, it further provides that the number of students belonging to the aforesaid three categories of back-ward classes who secure admission in 24% quota reserved for them and in open merit shall not exceed 40% of the total number of seats for admission. As regards the candidates belonging to other backward classes, Clause (e) of Rule 6 provides that the 10% reservation for them as shown in Clause (a) is not an over all ceiling for them and that it is open to them to secure more than 10% seats in open merit. It, however, provides that where their admissions in open merit category are less than 10%, the reservation for them under Clause (a) of Rule 6 is to the extent of the short fall below 10%.