SAVITA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak (hereinafter referred to as the respondent University) started from academic year 1981-82 a new course of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (hereinafter referred to as B. D. S. course) and issued a prospectus giving the necessary details, inter alia regarding the candidates, number of seats and the mode and manner of selection.

(2.) The petitioner Miss Savita, as one of the eligible candidates, applied and appeared for the competitive test meant for selection of candidates for the said course. The result of the said competitive test was declared, vide respondent University's letter dated 10-9-1981, Annexure 1 to the writ petition. On 21-91981, the final list of selected candidates for the said course was released and the selected candidates were asked to deposit fee etc. and complete other formalities by 30-9-1981 and the classes allegedly started from 15-10-1981. As per the prospectus, the total number of seats for admission was fixed at 20. Out of these 4 sets were reserved for the nominees of the Haryana Government and the balance 16 seats were open to the bona fide residents of the State of Haryana and these were distributed in the following manner: "(A) Reserved Seat Categories No of seals (a) Scheduled Castes/Tribes 4 (b) Backward Classes 2 (B) Open Merit Seats 10. Competition for reserved seats will be among the candidates belonging to the categories for which the seats have been j reserved. Reserved seats remaining vacant on account of non-availability of eligible candidates would be placed under 'Open Merit' Seats." The number of seat were later on increased to 26, as per letters dated 4-91981 and 18-9-1981 respectively of the Health Commissioner to the Government of Haryana, Annexures I and III to the writ petition. Categorywise distribution of the total 26 seats was ordained in the following manner :- (a) Scheduled Castes/Tribes 5 (b) Backward Classes 2 (c) Haryana Govt. Nominees 6 (d) Open Merit Seats 13 According to the petitioner, in fact, instead of 6, 7 seats were prescribed for the Haryana Government nominees by taking away one seat from the Open merit seats. No candidate from the Scheduled Castes/Tribes category is said to have appeared in the competitive test.

(3.) The petitioner in the Open merit seats category figured at Serial No. 20. She was denied admission. She moved civil Writ No. 7355 of 1981 in the Supreme Court challenging therein, inter alia, the reduction of Open Merit Seats by not including therein all the unfilled reserved seats for Scheduled castes Tribes category. That petition was dismissed in limine by their Lordships vide order dated 20-11-1981, Annexure V to the petition. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a civil suit in he civil Court. Considering, however, the said remedy as inefficacious, the petitioner filed the present writ petition in this Court on 1812-1981, on the identical grounds.