Important Point
Where State Government filled up All India Quota of MBBS students to State Medical College after first filling up the State Candidates wherein candidate belonging to the State who cleared in All India Pool also could be considered for admission, the course adopted by the Government being for the benefit of the All India Pool and the reason for filling up State Pool first being fair and reasonable cannot be interfered with.

Judgment

K. Venkataswami, J.-Special leave granted.

2. All these eight appeals arise out of a common order dated 26.11.98 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court made in CWP Nos. 12304, 12350, 13775, 13296, 12350 of 1998. The Chandigarh Administration and Another (hereinafter called the ‘appel­lants’) have preferred four appeals and the individuals affected by the order under appeal have filed sepa­rately four appeals. The common issue relates to the admission of the candidates to the MBBS course for the year 1998-99 in the Government Medical College, Chandigarh (hereinafter called the ‘College’).

3. Brief facts leading to the filing of the Writ Petitions are as under.

The Government Medical College, Chandigarh, was started in the year 1991 with an annual intake of 50 MBBS seats. 15% of the seats (7 seats) were being filled by the College from the All India Quota seats in accordance with the decision of this Court from the year 1991 upto 1994 by admitting students selected through the Combined Entrance Test conducted by the CBSE, New Delhi. It appears that from the year 1994-1995 onwards the Direcotrate of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, did not send any students against the 7 seats on account of an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court holding that the College was not a recognised one. Conse­quently, all the 50 seats were filled exclusively from the Chandigarh Pool. While so, on 27.3.1998 the Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP No. 2731 of 1998 held that 100% reservations for the students of Chandigarh Pool was against the settled principles of law on the point. In view of the said judgment dated 27.3.98 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it was decided by the Administration to fill up 15% seats from All India Pool and the remaining 85% from Chandigarh Pool. Accordingly, a Notification was issued on 19.9.98. In the said Notification, clause (d) reads as follows:-

“If candidate clears in All India Pool, even though belonging to Chandigarh, he/she would have the right to be considered and admitted in that pool subject to his/her merit. Other conditions would remain the same.”

Similar clause identically worded bearing No. 4 finds a place under the heading ‘Clarifi­cations’ in the Prospectus issued for the year 1998 by the College.

4. After the select list was published, the contesting respondents in these appeals challenged the same by filing the separate Writ Peti­tions.

5. The question that fell for consideration of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was whether the Administration was right in first filling up 85% of Chandigarh Pool out of merit list and then filling up the remaining 15% of All India Pool. According to the Writ Petitioners before the High Court (hereinafter referred to a ‘Writ Petitioners’) the Administration was right and it has acted against the spirit of clause (d) of the Notification corresponding to clause 4 of the ‘Clarifications’ given in the Prospectus. The contention of the Writ Petitioners was that 15% of the All India Pool must have filled in first and the remaining 85% of Chandigarh Pool must have been filled up subsequently. The reason for taking such a stand by the Writ Peti­tioners was that by filling up Chandigarh Pool first, the meritorious students hailing from Chandigarh lost their seats/claims, which had been given to candidates from All India Pool. Factually speaking, according to the Writ Petitioners the first seven numbers from the merit list were all candidates from the Chandigarh Pool. But for the impugned procedure followed by the Administration by filling up Chand­igarh Pool in the first instance, no single seat could have gone to candidates from All India Pool. In that way, according to the Writ Petitioners, the Chandigarh Pool candidates are affected. On the other hand, the reason for filling up the Chandigarh Pool first followed by All India Pool, according to the Admi­nistration, was to safeguard the interests of All India Pool candidates