SONIA NIYYAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CLAIMING her self to be the beneficiary of SRO -272 of 1982 dated 3.7.1982, the petitioner obtained a certificate from the competent authority of belonging to a backward area entitling her to be admitted in the MBBS course for the session 1983 -84. It is prayed that the selection of respondents 6 to 24 be quashed and the petitioner be admitted in the first year MBBS course on the basis of her merit and belonging to the backward area. The facts of the case are that respondent No1 by advertisement notice no. 5/MBBS/83 dated 34.5.1983 invited applications on the prescribed form from permanent residents of the State for admission in the first year MBBS course in the Govt.Medical Colleges Jammu and Srinagar. According to para 8 of the notification candidates who claimed consideration for selection on the basis of their belonging to any of the categories should attach with their application form certificates in the prescribed form.issued by the competent authority in support of their claim.Under para 11 of the notification it was provided that the eligiblecandidates shall appear in a written test ail if successful, in the viva voce. the petitioner claims to have filed an application along with the certificate of being a beneficiary allegedlyunder item No. 2 of Govt. Order No: 1988 -GD of 1981 dated 8.9.1981 and claimed to be the resident of Assoh (Bani) being entitled to be, considered as a resident of thebackward area.The certificate, is stated to have been issued on her application filed on 14.1.1982 which was delivered to her on 3.6.1982 under tb « hand and sc »l of  »the Collector, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Basohli. The certificate was not relied upon by the authorities on the ground of its not -having been issued by the prescribed authority. The action of the respondent is stated to be illegal and contrary to the conditions prescribed in the notification inviting application for admission to the MBBS course.

(2.) IN the counter -affidait it is submitted that the certificate of belonging to a backward area furnished fey the petitioner was not issued by the competent certifying authority and was therefore, rightly ignored by the respondents. It is submitted that the Govt. order relied upon by the petitioner in para 9 of her petition, was no more in force and stood superseded vide notification SRO -272 of 1982 dated 3.7.1982 read with notification SRO -334 of 1983 dated 13.6.1983. Under the aforesaid notifications, a candidate in terms of the provisions of cl. (8) of notification was required to submit the certificate of competent authority viz. Tehsildar of the concerned area of being a permanently residing in any village of the State specified in Annexure -I of the said SRO.

(3.) THE certificate produced by the petitioner was obtained by her in June, 1982, an year before the issuance of the notification inviting applications for admission to the MBBS course. It is ubmitted that during the relevant period the Tehsildar was present and posted at Basohli from whom the petitioner did not try to get the certificate, under SRO -272. It is furthe submitted that in the absence of the Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar was performing the duties. The certificate issued is stated to be without the authority of law and could not be made a basis for granting admission to the petitioner under the reserved category It is submitted that as many as 88 candidates had claimed consideration under the back -Ward area category and out of them only 23 were in possession of valid certificates and were considered and selected. Rest of the 65candidatesincluding the petitioner, could not be considered by the committee as they did not possess the requisite certificate from the competent authority.