Judgment

SEN, J. :- These two appeals by special leave brought from the judgments and orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated June 8, 1987 and January 12, 1988 dismissing the writ petitions filed by each of the appellants, substantially involve a question as to the interpretation of Rule 10 of the Madhya Pradesh Selection for Post-Graduation Courses (Clinical, Para-clinical and Non-clinical Coures) in Medical Colleges of Madhya Pradesh Rules, 1984 (Rules for short). The question raised is one of moment as it involves the right to admission to a seat in the Post-Graduate course in Medicine and Surgery in medical college (hereinafter referred to as the PG course in MD/MS) falling vacant in the midst of, or towards the end of, an academic year which, we believe, is a problem facing all the States.

2. First the facts. In these cases, the facts are not in dispute. In Dr. Ajay Pradhans case for the academic year 1986-87 commencing from September 1986, there were nine seats reserved for the post-graduate course in. the clinical subject of General Medicine for the G. R. Medical College, Gwalior. All the nine seats were filled by the Dean, Medical College from amongst candidates strictly on the basis of merit i.e. by candidates placed at serial Nos. 1 to 9 on the recommendation of the College and Hospital Council. The appellant Dr. Ajay Pradhan who was placed at serial No. 15 obviously could not be given admission to the P. G. Course in M. D. in General Medicine and was instead placed at serial No. 6 in the waiting list. Later on, he was given admission to the Diploma course in Radiology on 4-10-86 and he duly joined that course on 6-10-86 but failed to appear at the examination. On 11-7-87 Dr. Arun Yadav, one of the selected candidates who stood first in the merit list and was admitted to the P.G. Course in M. D. in General Medicine met with a tragic death in a road accident. Inasmuch as his death occurred towards the end of the academic year, the authorities took no steps to fill up the seat. However, on the death of Dr. Arun Yadav, the appellant staked a claim to fill up the vacant seat under R. 10 of the Rules on the ground that the candidates placed above him in the merit list had been rendered ineligible having either opted for the Diploma course in Radiology or had left their house job. That claim of his having been turned down he moved the Gwalior Bench of the High Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution. A Division Bench of the High Court by its order dated January 12, 1988 dismissed the writ petition holding that the claim of the appellant in terms of R. 10 was misconceived.

3. The facts in Dr. Sanjay Kumar Shrivastavas case are these. For the academic year 1986-87 commencing from August 1986 there were five seats reserved for the P. G. Course in M. S. in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for the Medical College, Jabalpur. On March. 2, 1987, the State Government passed an order transferring the seat occupied by Dr. Smt. Dhurupkar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the Medical College, Jabalpur to Medical College, Bhopal with a view to accommodate her and presumably because such transfer involved financial implications. On her transfer to Medical College, Bhopal, Dr. Smt. Dhurupkar continued to draw her stipend of Rs. 800//-per month reserved against one of the five seats in that discipline for Medical College, Jabalpur. The appellant Dr. Sanjay Kumar Shrivastava, who was placed at serial No. 7 in the waiting list moved the authorities seeking admission to the P. G. Course in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Medical college, Jabalpur contending that the seat had fallen vacant because of the transfer of Dr. Smt. Dhurupkar and had therefore become available in terms of R. 10 of the Rules. The authorities having disallowed his claim, the appellant moved the High Court by a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution. The High Court by its order dated June 8, 1987 dismissed the writ petition in limine holding that the seat occupied by D