VIKAS Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vikas Kumar petitioner has filed the present writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of the India against the State of Punjab, Director Animal Husbandry and College of Veterinary Science (respondent No. 1 to 3) and he has made a prayer that directions be issued to the respondents to admit the petitioner in the Veterinary Pharmacist Training Course for 2 years for the Session 2000 -2001 to be commenced from March 2001 as the petitioner is fully eligible and he fulfils all the requisite qualifications.

(2.) The case set up by the petitioner is that the respondent No. 2 issued an advertisement in the month of August 2000 for 200 seats for admission in the Veterinary Pharmacist training Course in the College of Veterinary Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and the applications duly completed in all respects, were required to be submitted by 25th August, 2000 and the entrance test was to be conducted on 24th September, 2000. The minimum 'qualification prescribed for general category for the said course was matric with 50% or 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology with 50 marks with Punjabi subject up to matric standard. The petitioner possessed the requisite qualification and he applied for the said course within the stipulated period. The petitioner was allotted Roll No. 3140 in the general category. He appeared in the Entrance Test on 24th September, 2000. The result of the' Entrance Test was declared on 31st October, 2000 and the petitioner was qualified and he was ranked at Serial No. 19 in the General category. On the basis of his performance in the Entrance Test, interview was fixed for 21st November, 2000. After qualifying the Entrance Test, petitioner appeared in the interview. The result of interview was declared on 24th January, 2001, through which the petitioner was declared unsuccessful. To the utter surprise of the petitioner, the person lower in rank in merit as shown in the result, has been selected for admission. The action of the respondent is totally arbitrary, discriminatory in nature and in violation of the provisions of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner is a matriculate and he secured 1st Division in the Matric Examination. He also possessed the qualification of 10+2 and secured 1st Division. He also qualified the examination of B.A. Part -I from the Punjab University and his result was declared on 22th August, 2000. The respondents have adopted pick and choose policy and the person lower in rank to the petitioner has been admitted in the course. The candidate with Roll No. 8024 who was at Sri. No. 46 has been selected and granted admission, whereas the petitioner who got rank 19 has been ignored without any reason. With this background, the petitioner has made a prayer for the issuance of a writ of mandamus.

(3.) Notice of the writ petition was given to the respondents. A joint written statement was filed on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 and 2 in which they have denied the allegations. The respondents admit that the petitioner appeared in the interview and was declared unsuccessful in the final merit list prepared as per the criteria given in the admission notice dated 27th July, 2000. The admission to the Veterinary course was not to be made only on the performance of the written test but on the basis of the merit to be computed by considering performance in the Entrance Test, Matriculation Examination and the interview. The merit on the basis of the written Entrance Test was of 50% of the total marks, 35 marks were given to the, petitioner on the basis of the Matric Examination; 15 marks were to be given on the basis of the performance in the interview conducted by the Committee and the final merit list was to be determined by adding of the marks. According to the respondents, no pick and choose method was adopted. Mere securing higher marks than others in the written test does not confer any right upon a candidate to get admission in the said training course and the same was to be made on the basis of the overall merit to be computed by considering performance in the Entrance test. With this broad defence, respondent Nos. 1 and 2 prayed for the dismissal of the writ petition.