SHARAD MAHESHWARI Vs. UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions raise a some-what difficult task for the Court to decide; whether the key answers to questions No. 30 and 82 of Botany Paper ('D' series) in P.M.T. 1996 examination are correct answers ? A related question of significance also arises about the scope of judicial scrutiny in such matters.

(2.) The petitioners herein applied for admission to the Medical College in the State of Rajasthan. There are five Medical Colleges in the State and admission is granted on the basis of result of a combined'Pre-Medical Test (for short P.M.T.) which was held in the year 1996 as per guidelines/instructions for admission of candidates to various Medical Colleges issued by the Government of Rajasthan. The University of Rajasthan was entrusted with the task of holding test in which four subjects, namely, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany were prescribed. The dispute relates to questions No. 30 and 82 of Botany paper ('D' Series) and according to the petitioners, the answers given by them are correct answers while key answers do not indicate correct answers, as a result of which they were awarded less marks. If they had been awarded correct marks, then they would have been placed in either select list or reserve list of candidates.

(3.) In Writ Petition No. 4522/96, the dispute is regarding question No. 30 only; while in Writ Petition No. 4292/96 it relates to questions No. 30 and 82. The petitioner, in Writ Petition No. 4522/96 has secured 264 marks in Botany and according to him, he is entitled to get four more marks i.e. 3 marks for giving correct answer to question No. 30 and one mark which was deducted for giving incorrect answer of question No. 30. According to him, in case he was awarded 268 marks correctly, then, he would have been placed in the list of selected candidates. Similarly, petitioner in Writ Petition No. 4293/96 was awarded 256 marks in Botany subject and he claims 264 marks by adding 8 marks for correct answers to questions No. 30 and 82.