DR. NAVEEN MEHRA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this writ petition seeks directions to the respondents to admit him to the M.D./M.S. course in any of the Government Medical Colleges in the State of Punjab for the session 1992-93, against the 25% seats to be filled in on the All India basis through an Entrance text. Some salient facts leading to the filing of the present writ petition may be noticed.

(2.) In Dr. Pradeep Jain Vs. Union of India, (1984) 3 SCC 654, the Apex Court took the view that so far as admission to post-graduate courses such as M.D./M.S., is concerned, it would be desirable not to provide for any reservation based on residence requirement within the State or on institutional preference. But having regard to the broader considerations of equality of opportunity, the Court directed a certain percentage of seats may be reserved on the basis of institutional preference. Initially the Supreme Court provided that such reservation on the basis of institutional preference should in no case exceed 50% of the total number of open seats available for admission to the post-graduate courses. The rest of the seats were required to be filled by an all India competitive examination, to be held by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. However, by a subsequent order, reservation of 50% for local students was changed to 75%. Consequently, 25% of the post-graduate seats in all the Institutions in the country were required to be filled by common entrance examination held on all India basis.

(3.) In Dr. Dinesh Kumar Vs. Motilal Nehru Medical College, (1986) 3 SCC 727, the Supreme Court laid down a time schedule for All India Institute of Medical Sciences to hold the entrance examination for the purpose of admission to M.D./M.S. courses for 25% seats. The time-schedule fixed was as under: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_132_LAWS(P&H)7_1993(1).html</FRM> This Scheme was modified by the Apex Court itself in Dr. Dinesh Kumar Vs. Motilal Nehru Medical College, (1987) 4 SCC 459, which was to the following effect:-