Judgment

MITTER, J. :- These two appeals are from a common judgment of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh rendered in two writ appeals from the judgment and order of a learned Judge of the same Court dismissing the applications filed by the appellants in the High Court and some others under Article 226 of the Constitution. The central question in these appeals is, whether the Entrance Test prescribed under notification of the Government dated July 23, 1970 for selection of candidates in the four Medical Colleges run by the State in the Andhra area is justified in law.

2. The facts are as follows. In the Andhra area of the State there are four Medical Colleges run by the Government and the total number of seats available for admission in the first year Integrated M.B.B.S. course in all the four colleges is 550. The State Government has been issuing rules every year after the publication of the results of the H.S.C. or S.S.L.C. Board of the University for selection of candidates for admission into the Medical Colleges. The test which was prescribed in July 1970 was the first of its kind. The test was duly held after the Additional Director of Medical and Health Services had issued a notification inviting applications from candidates for the purpose on July 31, 1970. Any one desiring to enter any of these Medical Colleges had to complete and file his application in the prescribed form by August 14, 1970 and appear at the Entrance Test to be conducted by the Director of Medical and Health Services on 30th August 1970 at any of the centres indicated in the rules. There was an exemption from appearance at such examination for candidates who had taken M. Sc or B.Sc Degree. The Government notification of 23rd July prescribed inter alia the following standard of eligibility:

(1) Candidates possessing the minimum qualification of H.Sc, (Multipurpose). I.S.C., P.U.C.; A.I.H S C or equivalent qualifications were eligible to appear for the Entrance Test provided that:

(a) In the above qualifying examinations, the candidates had taken up Physical sciences and Biological sciences for study and examination.

(b) Candidates had passed the qualifying examination in one attempt.

(c) Candidates had obtained not less than 50% of the marks in Physical and Biological Sciences put together in their qualifying examination.

(2) The Entrance Test was to consist of four papers of 50 marks each of the following subjects in two sessions:

(a) The subject of Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics)

(b) The subject of Biological Sciences (Zoology and Botany).

The candidates had to appear and answer two papers i.e. Chemistry and Physical Sciences in the morning session and the remaining two papers i.e. Zoology and Botany in the evening session. The Entrance Test was to be conducted in a single day in two sessions each of two hours duration.

(3) The standard of the test was to be comparable to the standard of qualifying examinations referred to above.

(4) The test was to be partly objective and partly narrative.

3. 5137 candidates applied for the Entrance Test out of which 4,669 were accepted for the test. 4,331 candidates actually took the test. As the number of seats were limited the majority of the candidates who appeared for the test failed to secure admission. Several writ petitions were filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging the validity of the Entrance Test prescribed and the method of selection for admission to the Medical Colleges.

4. Writ Petition No 3859 of 1970 was filed on August 6, 1970, the main prayer being that the State should be directed to withdraw the notification published by the Additional Director of Medical and Health Services with a further direction to the State to admit the petitioners into the first year Integrated M.B.B.S. course on the basis of the marks which had been awarded to them in the public examinations. Reliance was placed by the petitioners on certain provisions of the Andhra University Act (II of 1926) under which inter al