SHARMISTHA CHAKRAVARTY Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AN Information Brochure was published for Joint Entrance Examination, Engineering and Medical 2002, Orissa for admission to the First Year of Degree Courses in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture, Medicine/Dentistry/Pharmacy by the authorities of the Joint Entrance Examination (for short, 'the J.E.E.'). The petitioner applied for the MBBS Course as an Orissa State candidate and as a candidate for the 5% of the seats reserved for children of green card holders. For applying to the 5% of seats reserved forthe children of green card holders, a candidate is to be a native/ permanent resident of Orissa State and has to furnish along with the application form a copy of the resident/nativity certificate in the prescribed format provided in the Brochure as Appendix 1. The petitioner furnished along with her application such a certificate in Appendix I to show that she was a permanent resident of Orissa State. An Admit Card was issued to her for joint entrance examination as an Orissa State candidate and she took the JEE and secured 658 marks and in the general merit list as Orissa State candidate, her rank was 311. The rank of the last candidate in the general merit list who got admission in the MBBS Course was 228 and thus the petitioner could not get admission in the general category. The last candidate who got admission under the green card category had secured 653 marks and had ranked 335 in the general merit list and had ranked 68 in the green card category. The case of the petitioner is that since she had applied for the green card reserved category and has secured more marks than the last candidate who had been given admission in the green card category, she was entitled to admission in the green card category. But such admission in the green card category has been denied to the petitioner by the JEE Committee on the ground that she is not a permanent resident of State of Orissa and for this reason is not entitled to admission to the quota reserved for green card category, Aggrieved, the petitioner has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for appropriate writs/directions.

(2.) AT the hearing, Mr. G. Mukherji, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that Clause 2.2.2 of the information Brochure provided that for admission to Medical Colleges, a candidate must satisfy any of the criteria indicated therein to qualify as Orissa State candidate and the petitioner satisfied two criteria indicated therein. The first criterion in Clause 2.2.2 of the Information Brochure is that the candidate must be a permanent resident of Orissa and must furnish along with the application form a resident/ nativity certificate in the prescribed format provided in the Information Brochure as Appendix l from a Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tahasildar of the area where the candidate is a permanent resident. The petitioner had furnished along with the application such a resident/nativity certificate issued by the Additional Tahasildar, Rourkela. A third criterion in Clause 2.2.2 of the Information Brochure is that the candidate must be a son or daughter of a permanent employee of Government of India undertaking located in Orissa who was serving in Orissa at the time of application. Mr. Mukherji pointed out that along with the application, the petitioner had filed a certificate of employment of the father of the petitioner as prescribed in Appendix Ill of the Information Brochure which indicated that her father was working in the Steel Authority of India Limited, Rourkela Steel Plant at Rourkela in the State of Orissa. He further submitted that the petitioner also submitted photo copy of page 5 of the green card of the mother of the petitioner along with her application as required in Clause 2.3.2 of the Information Brochure and he also furnished a certificate in the prescribed format in Appendix V of the Information Brochure as required by the Note appended to Clause 2.3.2 of the Information Brochure. According to Mr. Mukherji, therefore, the JEE Authorities acted arbitrarily and in violation of the rights of the petitioner in not considering the petitioner as a candidate in the green card category and in denying the admission to the petitioner on the ground that she (petitioner) is not a permanent resident of Orissa State. Mr. Mukherji vehemently contended that this is a fit case in which this Court should direct the Opp. parties to give admission to the petitioner in the MBBS Course as per her merit in the green card category.

(3.) THE only question that is to be decided in this writ petition is whether the petitioner is entitled to admission into the seats in MBBS Course in Medical Colleges of Orissa reserved for the children of green card holders under Clause 2.3.2. of the Information Brochure. Clause 2.3.2. of the Information Brochure and the notes appended thereto which are relevant for deciding this case are quoted herein below :