BRAHMANANDA PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners in both the writ applications have prayed for quashing the letter No. 2230 dated 17.1.2002 issued by the Under Secretary to Government in the Department of Health and Family Welfare in which the decision of the Government to the Director of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy, Orissa, Bhubaneswar that the Demonstrators of the Government Ayurvedic Colleges appointed on regular basis shall be considered eligible for taking admission into P.G. Course against the supernumerary seats if they secure minimum qualifying marks in the entrance examination, as well as the order rejecting the representation for consideration of their case for admission into the P.G. Course against the supernumerary seats,

(2.) THE petitioners are working as Ayurvedic Medical Officers under the State Government. An advertisement was published inviting applications from eligible candidates for admission to Post Graduate courses in different subjects in Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya for the session 2001 2002. The prospectus issued along with the application form provides that one scat in each P, G. Course will be available for supernumerary, category of the P. G. Training of the employees of Government of Orissa provided they secure the minimum qualifying marks in the entrance examination. Their further claim is that they having obtained the minimum qualifying marks amongst the inservice, candidates were eligible to be considered for admission into P.G. Course as per Clause 7 of the prospectus which provides that one seat in each P. G. course will be available for supernumerary employee of the Government of Orissa. The case of the petitioner in O.J.C. No. 3196 of 2002 is that amongst the inservice candidates he had secured the highest mark. However, after appearing in the entrance examination the petitioner came to know that a proposal has been submitted on 23.11.2001 by the Director, Indian Medicines and Homeopathy, Orissa to the State Government for relaxing the conditions for admission to P.G. Course for inservice. Demonstrators of the Government Ayurvedic Colleges and accordingly the State Government in its letter dated 17.1.2002 which is impugned before this Court informed the Director that only the Demonstrators of Government Ayurvedic Colleges appointed earlier shall be considered eligible for taking admission into P.G. Course against the supernumerary seats if they secure minimum qualifying marks in the entrance examination. Coming to know about such a decision the petitioners in both the cases made representations individually for consideration of their cases on the ground that they had the minimum qualifying marks and, therefore, they deserve admission into P. G. Course against the supernumerary seats made available under the prospectus in each subject. The said representations having been turned down, which are impugned before this Court, the present writ applications have been filed.

(3.) THE learned counsel appearing for the State referring to the counter affidavit filed by it submitted that there are eleven Demonstrators in the taken over Ayurvedic College at Ankuspur who have been absorbed in the Government service without having post graduate qualification. Unless these persons acquire postgraduate qualification, they cannot be promoted to the post of Lecturer and consequently there will be stagnation in the base level post of Demonstrators and consequent vacancies will be created in higher posts. To avoid this bottle neck, the Government in the Health and Family Welfare Department decided to create supernumerary seat in P. G. classes of Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, Puri so as to give scope to these persons to acquire P. G. qualification. It is also submitted by the learned State Counsel that this arrangement has been made since 1998 99 and only four Demonstrators of K.A.T.S. Ayurvedic College, Ankuspur, Ganjam have availed this facility. Only with the view to get over the bottle neck as stated above the state Government decided to relax the stipulation for admission into P. G. Course for inservice Demonstrators working in the Government Ayurvedic Colleges. It is also contended by the learned counsel for the state that those non P. G. Demonstrators who have qualified in the entrance examination having secured minimum qualifying mark have been selected against supernumerary seats as per their merit in the merit list and there is no necessity to sponsor the petitioners who are working as Ayurvedic Medical Officers to acquire P.G. qualification against the supernumerary categories, of P.G. seats. It is also submitted that it is necessary for the Demonstrators who did not have the P.G. qualification to acquire such qualification for promotion as lecturers in view of the norms prescribed by the Central Council of Indian Medicine, New Delhi. The learned counsel appearing for the opposite parties 5, 6 and 7 more or less adopted the argument advanced by the learned counsel for the State and further submitted that the course having commenced for more than six months, it may not be desirable for this Court to up set the admissions that have taken place.