S.L. LOONA Vs. THE PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition (C. W. P. No. 11995 of 1991) along with three other C. W. P. Nos. 12052, 10758 and 12072 of 1991, was admitted by the Motion Bench direct to the Full Bench to reconcile the conflict, if any, between a single Bench decision overruled later by the Division Bench of this Court on the one hand, and the subsequent Single Bench decision taking ostensibly somewhat different view, without noticing the aforesaid Division Bench judgment but upheld by the Honble Supreme Court, on the other. However, on closer scrutiny, we have come to the conclusion that the law laid down by the Division Bench of this Court still holds the field, and the Single Bench judgment as upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, does not come into conflict with the Division Bench judgment at all, as it had decided the matter in hand on a very limited and wholly different question. Since common questions of law and fact are involved in these petitions, they are being disposed of by one and the same judgment. However, in order to appreciate the issues involved, facts have been taken from C. W. P. No. 11995 of 1991.

(2.) Union Territory, Chandigarh Administration, respondent No. 1, runs an Engineering College in the Union Territory, namely, the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. It is, in fact, a successor Institution of the Punjab College of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (formerly known as Maclagan Engineering College of the pre-partitioned Punjab, which remained in Pakistan as a result of partition of the country in 1947). The College is affiliated to the Punjab University, Chandigarh. According to the Prospectus of the College for the Session 1991-92, the total number of seats for the Bachelor of Engineering Course are 310, five per cent of which, that is, 16 seats, are allocated for sportsmen/sportswomen. These 16 seats have further been distributed categorywise as under:-sr. No. Category\ aero\ civil\ electronic\ elect-met. Prod. Total 7. Suportsmen / Women\ 1\ 3\ 1\ 3\ 3\ 5\ 16 though admission to the Bachelor of Engineering Course is made by the College on the basis of Common Entrance Test conducted by the Punjab University, Chandigarh, yet the Chandigarh Administration and the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, have issued separate guidelines for admission against the five per cent seats reserved for sportsmen/sportswomen based on the achievement of the candidates in the field of sports. In order to achieve this object and to eliminate the element of arbitrariness and discrimination in the matter of assessing the respective merits of the candidates, grading for sportsmen on the basis of their performance at the International, National, State, University or District level, various positions achieved by the sportsmen have been categorised. The guidelines, as provided in the Prospectus of the College, read as under :-guidelines FOR ADMISSION IN THE RESERVED CATEGORY OF 5 PER CENT SEATS BASED ON achievement IN SPORTS. Five per cent of the total number of seats in each course are reserved under this category. No weightage on the basis of sports shall be given to candidates not applying for admission in this category.

(3.) Students seeking admission under this category will be considered for admission out of this reserve quota on the basis of achievement only in the games and disciplines which have been included in the prospectus and only if these achievements relate to their activity in any of the three years preceding the year of admission. x x x7. In the case of individual Sports disciplines, position in individual events will be considered for gradation and not the position of the team as a whole. 8. The inter se merit of students shall be determined by adding weightage up to 10 per cent of their CET Score following the formula given in Paragraph 16, and not on the basis of their merit in Sports only. 9. Candidates competing for admission under this Reserved Category shall earn the following weightages (on the basis of achievements in Sports in the games/disciplines included in Annexure II) in the following manner for determining their inter se merit in the category : "category I. P. (International Player) : 10% category A Certificate Holder : 6% category B Certificate Holder (Placing 1, 2 and 3) 4% category B Certificate Holder (Placing 4-12) : 3% category Certificate Holder : 2% note :- Students seeking admission in the open category shall not be awarded this weightage. 10. For admission under this reserved category, cases of Sports persons with achievements in games/disciplines not included in Prospectus but excelling at National/international level shall be considered by the Committee constituted under Rule 5 which shall make its recommendation to the Home Secretary for approval of the Advisor to the Administrator. Grading For Sportsmen category I. P. (International Player or Sports Person) 1. A person getting any of the First three positions in the Olympic games/world games/commonwealth games/world Cup Tournaments/asian games. 2. A person representing India in the abovesaid games/tournaments. 3. A person representing India in official test matches abroad and within the country. Category 'a'1. A person getting any of the first three positions in the National Championship/ Inter-State/inter-Zonal Tournament Preasian games. 2. A person included in the All-India Combined Universities Teams for seniors abroad and within the country. 3. A person getting any of the first three positions in the All-India Inter-University Tournaments. 4. A person included in the National teams for juniors in International tournaments and within the country. 5. A person included in the All-India Combined University teams for Juniors abroad and within the country. 6. A person getting, any of the first three positions in the 'all-India Inter-University Zonal meets and National Zonal meets. 7. A person getting any of the first three positions in the National Championship for juniors. 8. A person included in the National teams for schools in the International tournaments within the country and abroad. 9. A person getting any of the first three positions in the National Championships for schools. Category 'b'1. A person included in the Punjab University team in the All-India Inter-University tournaments. 2. A person included in the State/union Territory teams in the Senior National Championship. 3. A person included in the University teams other than the Punjab University, Chandigarh, in the Inter-University tournaments. 4. A person getting any of the first three positions in the Punjab University/intercollege tournaments. 5. A person getting any of the first three positions in the Inter-District/union Territory Championship for Seniors. 6. A person getting any of the first three positions in the University Inter-Collegiate tournaments other than the Punjab University. 7. A person included in the State/union Territory Junior teams in the National Championships. 8. A person included in the State Schools/ Union Territory School teams in the National School Games. 9. A person included in Case (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan) in the National School Games. 10. A person getting any of the first three positions in the State Junior/union Territory Championship. 11. A person getting any of the first three positions in the States School/union Territory games. 12. A person getting any of the first three positions in the CBSE (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan) Championship. Category 'c'1. A person getting any of the first three positions in the residential Universities. 2. A person getting any of the first three positions in the University 'b' division tournament. 3. A person getting any of the first three positions in the CBSE (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan) Regional Tournaments. "3. Before admissions could be made in the Punjab Engineering College in accordance with the aforesaid criteria, the petitioners have approached this Court challenging the same on a variety of grounds, that is, being arbitrary, discriminatory, running contrary to the criteria laid down by the Punjab Government for its Institutions in the State, as also being different from the one prescribed by the Union Territory, Chandigarh for other Institutions in the Union Territory, and running counter to the criteria upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this Court in an earlier case.