PAYAL SAWHNEY Vs. MEENAKSHI SURI FB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Full Bench has been constituted to resolve the conflict in views expressed by two Division Benches of this Court on the constitutional validity of categorisation made by the State Government for nominating candidates to be admitted to the Medical courses, M.B.B.S and B.D.S. in various Medical Colleges throughout the country against the seats allocated to the State by the Central Government from the central pool. One Division Bench has held the categorisation to be valid and the other has held it to be invalid. Judgment of the Division Bench upholding the validity was rendered in OWP No. 995/ 1991, Pankaj Gandotra v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, connected with several other petitions of similar nature, decided on 10-81992 at Jammu. This Division Bench comprised K. K. Gupta and V. K. Gupta, JJ. Judgment of the Division Bench which negatived the constitutional validity was rendered in OWP No. 2637 of 1991 Qazi Yusra Aslam v. State connected with several writ petitions of similar nature decided on 13-9-1993 at Srinagar. Before proceeding further a few facts necessary for the resolution of the conflict may be noticed.

(2.) In the aforesaid writ petitions the dispute related to the nominations made in the year 1991 for the academic Sessions 1991-92. For filling seats in the Medical Colleges at Srinagar and Jammu a combined entrance examination was conducted by the Competent Authority, Entrance Examinations. On 19-7-1991 the Competent Authority issued notification inviting application from eligible candidates for admission to the entrance test. Originally 175 seats were available. Later 25 more seats became available. Thus the test was to be held to select 200 candidates. The test was held on 14-9-1991 and 15-9-1991, and the result was declared on 26-9-1991. There were complaints of irregularity in the conduct of the test which were gone into by the Competent Authority which found that some of the grievances were correct. Thereafter corrected result was declared on 11-10-1991. While this process of selection was going on the Central Government allocated, out of the central pool, 25 seats for admission to the M.B.B.S. course and 4 seats for admission to the B.D.S. course, 29 seats in all. The State Government decided to make nomination from amongst the candidates who had appeared at the test held on 14-9-1991 and 15-9-1991 but had failed to qualify and proceeded to formulate categories for nominations. The categories formulated are :

(3.) No applications were invited from candidates desiring nomination against any of the categories. Some candidates made applications on their own. These applications were considered and nominations were made. On the basis of the nominations, the nominees got admission in various Medical Colleges of the country.