VIJAY L DESHMUKH Vs. DEAN MEDICAL COLLEGE NAGPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The common question that arises for decision in these eight writ petitions is whether by virtue of Rule E(6) of the Annexure to the Government Resolution, Medical Education and Drugs Department. No MED 1081 7575/MED-4. dt. 21st December, 1984, the Deans of the Medical Colleges are obliged to allot the vacant seats, if they remain unfilled after 30 days from the date of opening of the colleges, to the candidates belonging to the open category, irrespective of the initial reservations contemplated by part-D of the Annexure.

(2.) The eight petitioners, who had passed the XII-standard (H.S.C.) examination in March 1985, applied for admission to the Medical colleges located at Nagpur for the academic session 1985-86 under Part-C of the aforesaid rules promulgated on 21st December, 1984. The admissions were closed at serial No. 212, and the petitioner-Vijay Deshmukh in Writ Petition No. 1333 of 1986, who had secured 257 marks, and the other petitioners, were not placed in the provisional select-list. Their grievance is that though under Rule 6 of part-E, the Deans of all Medical Colleges are authorised to admit the students of the local Universities to the seats, except those mentioned under rule D(4)(iv) lying vacant, if any, after 30 days from the date of opening of the colleges, strictly on the basis of merit from amongst the candidates from the waiting-list, they were not admitted. though a total of 20 seats lay vacant in the Government Medical College and Indira Gandhi Medical College at Nagpur. By these petitions they, therefore, seek an appropriate writ directing the Deans of the Medical Colleges to consider them for the 20 open seats which are lying vacant.

(3.) The respondent-Dean, Medical College, Nagpur, contended that all the seats of the open category for the Ist M.B.B.S. course during the academic year 1985-86 have been filled strictly on merit basis and no seat remains vacant. According to the respondent, the allotment of the total seats was as follows :- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_56_AIR(BOM)_1987Html1.htm</FRM> One of the candidates who was considered for the other vacant seat of the Government Medical College under the second category, did not report for admission, and this position was conveyed to the Government telegraphically on 3-12-1985, as the respondent had no authority to fill these two reserved seats. The candidates belonging to the categories of Backward Classes and Scheduled Tribe/V.J.N.T. were required to submit valid caste certificates from the Director of Tribal Research and Training Institute, Pune, along with their applications for admission, but they had not produced such certificates and so the merit lists regarding these candidates were sent to the Director of Tribal Research and Training Institute, Pune, and the other concerned authorities. Some challenges have been raised to the decisions of the authorities who have to verify their claims, and pending the decision in appeal and the writ petitions filed in this Court, it was not open to the respondent to fill those vacant seats. It was urged that in any event, the seats, which were reserved, are not available to the petitioners who belong to the open category and they cannot lay any claim in respect of these vacant seats.