MAN MOHAN Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) I propose to dispose of 31 connected writ petitions (C. Ws. Nos. 1894, 1931, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983 to 1990, 2004, 2006, 2016 to 2024, 2026, 2027, 2029 to 2031, 2039 and 2052 of 1972) by this common judgment as in fact only two out of all these petitions were argued before us on identical grounds and those arguments were adopted on behalf of the petitioners in the other cases. As there is no material difference between the relevant facts of the remaining cases, reference has been made in the course of this judgment to the record of Civil Writ 1894 of 1972 only. The crucial point on which counsel for the parties have focused their arguments in these petitions filed by 31 B. Sc. , degree holders who are candidates for admission to the M. B. B. S. course of the Government Medical colleges in the State of Punjab, is whether the innovation made by the respective universities to which those colleges are affiliated restricting the consideration of the claims for admission to only such first class Science degree holder candidates who secured at least 60 per cent. marks in the Science Subjects in the Pre-medical examination (or other recognised equivalent examination) is or is not hit by Article 14 of the Constitution when Under-Graduate candidates who secured 50 per cent. . or above (even less than 60 per cent. .) marks in the Pre-Medical Examination are eligible for consideration for admission to the said course.

(2.) THERE are only two Government Medical Colleges in the State of Punjab, one at amritsar and the other at Patiala. The Amritsar College is affiliated to the Guru nanak University and the Patiala College is affiliated to the Punjabi University. Admission to both the Colleges is made jointly in order of merit out of eligible candidates whose names are arranged in the prescribed order. The number of seats at both these Medical Colleges taken together is 300. 50 per cent. . of those seats are reserved for different categories of candidates (Scheduled Castes, scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, Central Government nominees, women candidates etc.) the rest of the 50 per cent. seats have to be filled by open merit. According to the relevant regulations which were in force till the last year, admission to the M. B. B. S. course was open to any student who had attained the age of 17 years on October 1, of the year of admission to the Medical College, and who had passed not less than 18 months previously with at least 50 per cent. marks in the Science subjects, either the Intermediate Science (Medical Group)Examination, or the Pre-Medical Examination, or the B. Sc. Final Examination, or any other Examination recognised by the Syndicate of the University as equivalent to the Pre-Medical Examination. A person who had passed the Pre-Medical or equivalent examination with less than 50 per cent. marks was also eligible for admission to the course if he had passed either the B. Sc. , Examination (with Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology) in the First Division, or the M. Sc. Examination in any one of those subjects in the first Division. The test of the conditions for admission to the course prevalent in the previous year are not relevant for our purposes. They are contained in the copy of the extract from the Panjab University Calendar filed as Annexure 'a'. In april, 1972, the Punjabi University, Patiala, is stated to have amended its relevant statute. The Guru Nanak University, Amritsar, also carried out the same amendments in June, 1972. A copy of the relevant statute of the Guru Nanak university has been placed before us and has been marked Annexure R-1. The relevant portion of the said statute is in the same terms as in the advertisement which appeared in the daily English 'tribune', dated June 11, 1972 (Annexure 'b')wherein applications for admission to the course in question were invited from eligible candidates. The relevant part of the advertisement was in the following words:-

(3.) A copy of the printed brochure "for admission to 1st year M. B. B. S. Class, 1972, Government Medical Colleges, Amritsar, and Patiala" has also been filed before us by Shri Jawahar Lal Gupta Advocate during the course of hearing of arguments. The same has been placed on record and marked Annexure 'd'. Paragraph 3 of the brochure is in practically the same terms as the extract from the statute which has already been quoted above. Annexure 'c' to the writ petition is the copy of a communication, dated May 19, 1972, from the Secretary to the government, Punjab, addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak University, amritsar, laying down the criteria for admissions to the Medical Colleges. After referring to the order in which preference was being given to candidates for admission in the M. B. B. S. course previously it was stated as below:-