SAYANTANA PATRA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has sought for a writ of mandamus directing the opp. parties to admit the petitioner to MBBS/BDS Course. The petitioner is the daughter of Lt. Col. H. Patra, presently serving in Indian army as a Doctor. She appeared in the Joint Entrance Examination for the year 1999 -2000. Being child of a military personnel, she was shown against serial No. M -1 3. It is the case of the petitioner that as per the terms contained in the brochure (Annexure -1), particularly Sub - clause 2.3.4 of Clause 2.3, three seats in medical college and one seat in BDS in SCB Medical College had been reserved for the children of defence and para -military personnel. The petitioner clams that though she was placed at serial No. 13 among the children of defence and para -military personnel, the candidates securing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th position in such reserved list relating to children of defence and paramilitary personnel, were, in fact, within the list of general category candidates being placed at serial Nos. 22, 56, 94 and 144 respectively. In such view of the matter, the petitioner claims that the aforesaid four persons who were also selected on merit in general category should have been considered in the general category and consequently, the petitioner should have been placed at serial No. 9 of the reserved category relating to children of defence and para -military personnel and allowed to take admission.

(2.) THOUGH notice on behalf of opposite parties 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 had been accepted by the counsel for the State, no counter had been filed on their behalf. However, counter has been filed on behalf of opposite party No. 3, the Chairman of Joint Entrance Examination Committee. In the counter it is stated that actually as per the resolution of the Government contained in Annexure -A, three per cent of the total seats in MBBS Course and three per cent of the seats in BDS course had been reserved. The total seats available for MBBS Course in the three Colleges being 273, three per cent of such number comes to 8.19 and disregarding the fraction, only 8 seats are available for reserved category of children of defence and para -military personnel and similarly, three per cent of 17 seats for BDS Course being 51, when rounded off, only one seat was available. It has been indicated in the counter that inadvertently in the information brochure in place of 'three per cent of seats', it has been printed as 'three seats' in the second line of Sub -clause 2.3.4 of Clause 2.3. It is further stated that though first four candidates in the list relating to children of defence and para -military personnel were found place in the merit -list of general candidates, only two of them chose to take admission as general candidates and two others chose to take admission as reserved candidates and accordingly, candidates up to serial No. 11 in such list relating to children of defence and paramilitary personnel were offered admission against eight seats in MBBS Course and one seat in BDS Course. It is, therefore, indicated in the counter that petitioner's serial being at No. 13, she could not be admitted. It has been further pleaded that admission to the medical colleges having been completed and all seats in MBBS Course and BDS Course having been filled up, the writ application has become infructuous.

(3.) AT the time of entertaining the writ application, no stay had been granted, nor any seat had been reserved. The counsel for opp. party No. 3 states that all the seats in MBBS Course as well as BDS Course have been filled up. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner states that about three seats are available in MBBS Course. If the petitioner would have challenged the admission of last ranked person admitted into the MBBS/BDS Course, by impleading such candidate, such admission possibly could have been set aside. The petitioner has not prayed for setting aside the admission of any candidate already admitted. Thus, though the petitioner has been illegally deprived of being admitted into the MBBS/BDS Course, the question as to whether she can be allowed to take admission into MBBS/BDS Course now depends upon the contingency as to whether any seat is lying vacant. In the facts and circumstances of the case, it is directed that opp. party No. 2, the Director of Health (Medical Education), shall ascertain within a period of seven days regarding any vacancy in MBBS/BDS Course in the colleges concerned and if any seat is available, the petitioner shall be permitted to be admitted within a period of two weeks from today. However, if no such vacancy is available, the petitioner has to rue her luck and wait for the next year.