PATANJALI RISHI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard petitioner in person. Counsel for State of Bihar, Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board as also Medical Council of India have been heard. The petitioner is an Advocate practicing in Patna High Court. He has filed this Public Interest Litigation praying, inter alia to direct the respondent-authorities of the State of Bihar to take admission in MBBS Course for the academic session 2014-15 in the light of direction given by this Court in the case of G.V. Nutan v. The Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, 2014 2 PLJR 725. In effect petitioner is seeking direction to the authorities to fill up the general seats vacated by the reserved category candidate selected in the general merit and then opting for reserved seat by those who are immediately below in the general merit list, as according to petitioner, candidates of reserved category cannot be allowed to take admission against the seats vacated by the reserved category selected in general merit list and then opting for reserved category seat. According to him, seats in the general category having become vacant is required to be filled up from the candidates who are immediately below in the general merit list, the candidates immediately below may be of general category or of reserved category. He has further prayed that admission process be completed by 30th September, 2014 in the light of the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 19.5.2014 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 737 of 2013 (Lipika Gupta & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.). Petitioner has further prayed that left over seats in the SC/ST, disabled category which could not be filled up because the candidates of those category could not secure the minimum qualifying marks as fixed by MCI in the light of clause 14.4 (kha)(iii) of the prospectus should be filled up from the general merit list.

(2.) It is submitted by the petitioner that total number of seats which could not be filled up because of inaction of the State is 152. In this connection, he pointed out that there are 42, 4, 17, in all 63 seats, in the category of SC/ST, disabled and 89 seats are those which have been vacated by the reserved category candidates opting for reserved category seat and thereby 89 seats are required to be filled up from candidates immediately below in the general merit list of any category.

(3.) Petitioner, in this regard, submitted that public interest is involved in the matter as for the present, the sanctioned strength of the doctors in the Bihar Health Service is more than ten thousand but because of paucity of doctors in the State there are hardly two thousand and odd doctors serving in the health cadre of the State and if these 152 seats are allowed to remain vacant for the academic session 2014-15, the State of Bihar will lose opportunity to produce 152 doctors. In this connection, petitioner pointed out that the shortfall of more than eight thousand doctors in Bihar Health Service cannot be made up overnight, sustained effort is required to be taken every year for filling up the shortfall of the doctors in the State which has arisen in course of time.