1. Writ petition under Article 32 seeking reallocation of medical admission seat under All India quota and challenging the administration of the allocation process. (Para 1 , 2 )
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1994 Supreme(SC) 59
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
M.N.VENKATACHALIAH, C.J.I., AND S. MOHAN, J.
CHHAVI MEHROTRA (Miss)
Versus
DIRECTOR GENERAL HEALTH SERVICES.
Writ Petition (C) No. 370 of 1993, decided on January 14, 1994
Important Points
The Court held that government officials can be proceeded against for contempt under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, for deliberately making false statements on oath and disobeying specific judicial directions regarding the allocation and surrender of medical seats.
Subject
Constitutional Law - Contempt of Court
Act Referred
Headnote
Constitution of India,1950 - Article 32 - Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 - Sections 2(a) and 12 - Seat be kept vacant - Reallocation - Services - Writ petition along with similar other writ petitions were taken up for consideration by Court. Comprehensive directions were issued in relation to admissions - Obedience to order of Court, a notification was issued by Director General of Health Services requiring the candidates to signify their willingness to be considered for admission under the scheme evolved by court - Director General of Health Services will first consider the cases of all those candidates who have applied for change of college and whose applications are pending before Directorate on of this order including petitioners – Held, Specific directions requiring the surrender of unfilled seats to State quota do not know how there could be a disobedience thereof there is disobedience of directions were not in list of eighty candidates, list which came to be submitted to Court in relation the application is prior while it is sought to be made candidates who had applied were included in list statement is misleading – Court direct issue of notices to the Director General of Health Services Assistant Director General to show cause why should not be proceeded against under Section 2(a) of Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 – Ordered Accordingly
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Petitioner alleges discriminatory reallocation of seats to lower-ranked candidates and false statements by authorities; respondents justify allocations based on merit and vacancy. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 )
3. The court found the authorities' statements regarding application deadlines misleading and noted disobedience of specific directions regarding the surrender of unfilled seats to state quotas. (Para 8 , 9 )
4. Deliberate disobedience of court directions and making misleading statements on oath constitute grounds for contempt proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. (Para 9 , 10 )
5. Notices issued to the Director General of Health Services and Assistant Director General to show cause against contempt proceedings. (Para 10 )
6. What constitutes contempt of court in the context of administrative compliance with judicial directions?
Disobeying specific court directions—such as failing to surrender unfilled seats to a state quota—and providing misleading statements on oath regarding the administration of those directions can lead to contempt proceedings. (Para 9 , 10 )
7. Can a party approach a High Court when the Supreme Court is already seised of the matter?
The court disapproved of a petitioner entertaining a writ petition before the High Court while the matter was already in seisin of the Supreme Court. (Para 3 )
8. What is the legal consequence of making false or misleading statements on oath before the court?
Making misleading statements on oath regarding the facts of a case or the implementation of court orders can result in the court initiating proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. (Para 9 , 10 )
ORDER
1. The petitioner filed this writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India praying for direction for consideration of her admission to MBBS course against the 15% All India quota of 1992. She was originally allocated a seat in Medical College, Alleppey, Kerala. She prayed for transfer to Lucknow.
2. This writ petition along with similar other writ petitions were taken up for consideration by this Court. Comprehensive directions were issued in relation to admissions. In obedience to this order of this Court, a notification dated May 28, 1993 was issued by the Director General of Health Services requiring the candidates to signify their willingness to be considered for admission under the scheme evolved by the court. By an order dated June 10, 1993 of this Court, inter alia the following directions were given:
"(i) The Director General of Health Services will first consider the cases of all those candidates who have applied for change of college and whose applications are pending before the Directorate on the date of this order including the petitioners in W.P. Nos. 370, 383, 447, 458 and 466 of 1993.
(vii) In case any candidate who has been allotted a seat against All India quota in pursuance of this order does not avail of the same and fails to report in the college to which he has been nominated by July 15, 1993, the seat allotted to the said candidate would stand surrendered to the State quota."
3. In spite of the matter being in seisin of this Court, the writ petitioner moved the High Court in Writ Petition No. 1508 of 1993 before the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court and obtained certain directions. The High Court ordered that a seat be kept vacant in the King George Medical College, Lucknow. By our order dated July 27, 1993, we disapproved of the High Court entertaining the writ petition and a stay of the order was granted.
4. Petitioner was allocated a seat in S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur. She prays that she might be accommodated in Lucknow. She gives instances of following five persons who being lower in rank to her, have been accommodated in Lucknow.
(a) Km Neetika Pant (W.P. No. 563 of 1993) merit rank No. 1718 wait-listed candidate, resident of Allahabad has been reallocated seat at S.N. Medical College, Allahabad.
(b) Mr Vibhuti (W.P. No. 564 of 1993) merit rank No. 1460 also a resident of Allahabad has been reallocated seat at S.N. Medical College, Allahabad. Initially admitted at T.D. Medical College, Alleppey, Kerala.
(c) Mr Rajiv Kumar Goyal (W.P. No. 458 of 1993) merit rank No. 2118, wait-listed admitted candidate, resident of Bareilly has been reallocated seat at Meerut from Dibrugarh.
(d) Km Anshu Aggarwal on representation submitted to the respondent, merit rank No. 1958 wait-listed candidate admitted at Berhampur, State of Orissa, resident of Kanpur, has been reallocated seat at M.L.B. Medical College, Jhansi.
(e) Km Neelu Aggarwal (W.P. No. 544 of 1993) admitted at Thanjavur, State of Tamil Nadu, merit rank No. 1284, resident of Agra, has been reallocated a seat at Lucknow.
5. In his counter-affidavit, the Assistant Director General (Medical Education) states in paragraph 7 as under:
"With regard to the averments contained in paragraph 8 I submit that the list submitted to the Court on June 10, 1993 included only those candidates who had applied after the last date of receiving applications for first of the allocation viz. December 28, 1992, the candidates who had applied up to December 28, 1992 were not included in the list and therefore the names of the petitioners did not figure in the list."
In reply, the petitioner would aver as under :
"Contents of para 7 are wrong and incorrect to the knowledge of the deponent of the affidavit under reply and the same are vehemently denied. In the list submitted by June 10, 1993, some of the candidates who had applied before December 23, 1992 for change of medical college were included and one such example is Km Namita Jhamb (1465) at Serial No. 37. It i
