K L NARASIMHAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Vs. POST GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Can the posts of Assistant Professors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as the 'Institute') be reserved exclusively for members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The two petitioners herein challenge the action of the Institute in reserving these posts as being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. A few facts may be noticed.

(2.) The petitioners Graduated in Medicine and Surgery int he years 1979 and 1981 respectively. They passed the Master of Surgery Examination in the years 1984 and 1985. Besides this, petitioner No.1 completed his M.Ch,in Paediatric Surgery in July 1987 and petitioner No.2 in Urology in June 1989. Petitioner No.l is working as Assistant Professor in the department of Paediatric Surgery on ad hoc basis since December 12,198S which petitioner No.2 is working as Assistant Professor in Renal Transplantation on ad hoc basis since September, 1989. Their appointments have been extended from time to time.

(3.) In the year 1990, the Institute issued an advertisement inviting applications for 12 posts of Assistant Professors in different specialities. Eight posts were reserved for members of Scheduled Castes and four for those belonging to the category of Scheduled Tribes. In this case, we are concerned with the posts in the specialities of Urology, General Surgery (Renal Transplantation) and Paediatric Surgery (Neonatology,). It is averred that according to the advertisement, the "age, postgraduate qualifications and experience" were "relaxable in exceptional cases on the recommendations of the Selection Committee" It is further averred that the posts of Assistant Professors are specialised technical posts. Even though all the posts are in identical scale of pay of Rs.3500--4500, yet all of them belong to different specialities and each post "is an isolated post by itself." It has been further pointed out that even in the" department of Urology where there are three posts of Assistant Professors, a person belonging to the category of Scheduled Castes is already working. The petitioners have further averred that this very vacancy of Assistant Professor in Urology had been advertised in December, 1989 and was not treated as a reserved post. A reference has also been made to the recommendation made by Dr. S.K. Sharma, Professor and Head of the Department of Urology vide his letter dated October 17,1990 that the post should not be reserved for members of Scheduled Castes/Tribes. Challenge has also been made to the stipulation in the advertisement that the qualifications and experience can be relaxed. The petitioners maintain that these posts have to be filled up by open competition and that the reservation thereof is a nagation of the constitutional right covered by Article 16.