SUSHIL AGARWALLA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The W.P (C) No. 3280 of 2010 was originally filed by 7 (seven) writ Petitioners. They had appeared in the Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination, 2010, for short, PGMEE, 2010. On the prayer of learned Counsel for the Petitioners, the names of Petitioner Nos. 1,3,4 and 5 are struck off the record as they did not want to press the writ petition and therefore, the present writ petition survives so far as the writ Petitioner Nos. 2,6 and 7 are concerned. The case of the Petitioners is that after obtaining Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), being eligible, they had appeared in the PGMEE, 2010, for admission in the Post Graduate Courses in the 3 Medical Colleges throughout the State of Assam. In the rank wise merit list, the rank of the Petitioners (we have included all the Petitioners though they are not on record now) are 56, 64,73,74,76,78 and 83, respectively. The total marks of the examination was 300 and the marks obtained by the Petitioner Nos. 1 to 7 are 222, 220, 219, 218, 218, 217 and 217 respectively. The total number of seats for both degree and diploma courses under State Quota is 170 and the percentage of seats allotted as well as actual seats allotted in respect of all the categories of candidates entitled to get admission in Post Graduate Courses are available in the Rules holding the field . Out of the 170, only 60 seats were made available for the General category being 35% of the total seats while 110 seats were reserved under various categories constituting 65% of the seats. The seats reserved under the Teachers Quota and the North Eastern Council Quota were merged and adjusted in General category thereby portraying a picture that 82 seats were kept in the Unreserved General category. Adjustment of the seats under the State Health Quota as also the seats of Teachers Quota with the General category also could not succeed the percentage of reserved seats to be kept below 50%. The Petitioners claimed to be candidates belonging to the General category. Although they had secured comparatively very high position in the PGMEE, 2010, it soon became obvious to them that because of the many ills that beset the procedure for admission in the Post Graduate Courses due to the Rules which are in force and notifications issued by the Government in the field of procedure to be adopted for the purpose of admission into Post Graduate Courses, let alone being able to pursue the PG Courses in the subjects of their choice, the prospect of they being at all able to pursue the PG Courses was looming large with uncertainty.

(2.) The predicament that they face is due to certain provisions of the Rules of 2006, which, according to them are wholly arbitrary, discriminatory, unconstitutional and therefore, they say that such Rules should be declared ultra vires and null and void. According to the Petitioners, the offending Rules are:

(3.) W.P.(C) No. 1259 of 2011 is filed by 6 (six) Petitioners. All these Petitioners obtained MBBS degree in the year 2008 except Petitioner No. 6 who obtained MBBS degree in the year 2006. They all joined 1 year rural service, albeit, on different dates. Their dates of joining rural service are 24.1.2009, 18.9.2009, 23.9.2009, 19.9.2009, 18.9.2009 and 12.10.2009 respectively. These Petitioners had appeared in the PGMEE, 2011 and their positions in the rank wise merit list are 46, 81, 84, 104, 164 and 174, respectively. The grievance of these writ Petitioners are basically two-fold: (1) grant of additional marks @ 10% of the marks obtained in the Entrance Examination, for every year of service in remote and difficult areas and (2) relaxation of 1 year rural service before appearing in the Post Graduate Medical Examination, 2011.