SHASHANK SAXENA Vs. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY PUBLIC HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INVOKING the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court the petitioner has prayed that Rule 10 (2) (b) (d) and Rule 10 (3) of M. P. Medical Dental Postgraduate Entrance Examination Rules, 2007 (for short 'the 2007 Rules') be declared ultra vires the Article 14 of the Constitution and further to issue a mandamus the the respondents to treat him as an in-service candidate from the rural area for the purpose of grant of weightage regard being had to the weightage conferred for posting in such areas.

(2.) AT the very outset it is condign to mention that on 10-3-08 the learned counsel for the petitioner abandoned the challenge to the Rules inasmuch as the Rules had been declared intra vires in of Dr. Arvind Bhatia Vs. State of M. P. and others, air 2007 MP 196. This Court on the said date recorded abandonment of the prayer and kept the other issues alive. Thereafter on 17-3-08 this Court passed the following order: is submitted by Mr. Rajendra Tiwari, learned senior counsel being assisted by Mr. Gupta that the controversy involved in the case at hand would rest on a singular ground, namely, whether the station which is treated as rural posting for compulsory rotating internship would be excluded for awarding marks for in-service candidates. To bolster his submission he has drawn our attention to the order dated 31. 3. 2007 as contained in Annexure P-12. On a scrutiny of the same it is revealable that interns have been posted at Agar which finds mention at serial no. 9 and is treated as rural posting. The seminal question that emerges for, consideration is whether pasting to such place would enure benefit to the in-service candidate who is holding the posting there for a period of eight years. Mr. Deepak Awasthy, learned Government Advocate shall file an affidavit exclusively in this regard. The affidavit shall also indicate on what foundation/base Agar is treated as station for rural posting. In view of the, aforesaid, the spinal issue that requires advertence is whether the petitioner by virtue of his posting at Agar in the district of Shajapur can be conferred weightage as postulated in the Rules.

(3.) RULE 2 of 2007 Rules is the dictionary clause. Rule 2 (d) defines 'in-service' candidate. It reads as under: