The court emphasized the mandatory nature of Regulation 9(VII) and held that the State's failure to issue a fresh list of difficult and/or remote areas violated the regulation, leading to the deprivation of statutory weightage for the petitioners.

ORDER :

Heard Ms. Indu Malhotra, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, Dr. Monika Gusain, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent- State and Mr. Gaurav Sharma, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Medical Council of India.

2. By consent of learned counsel for the parties, we finally dispose of the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.

3. The petitioners in the instant writ petition have made the following prayers:

a. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari quashing the counselling process for MD/MS/PG Diploma held by the Registrar, Pt. B.D. Sharma, University of Health Science, Rohtak on 30.5.17 and 31.5.17 as unconstitutional being ultra vires Articles 14 of the Constitution of India.

b. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondent State Authorities to issue a notification notifying the remote and/or difficult areas in terms of Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 framed by the Medical Council of India and grant applicable weightage in marks while considering the candidature of the Petitioners for admission for MD/MS/PG Diploma in the State of Haryana.

c. Issue Rule nisi in terms of the prayers above.

d. Pass such other and further orders as this Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case.

4. The petitioners before us are in-service doctors who have applied for admission in Post Graduate Degree and Diploma Courses. The petitioners claimed that having rendered service in remote and/or difficult areas they are entitled for the weightage as admissible under Regulation 9 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the 2000 Regulation’). It is submitted that earlier a list for remote and difficult areas was issued by the State of Haryana on 05.05.2017, which was challenged before the High Court by filing a writ petition. The writ petition was allowed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against which order the State came in the SLP, which after granting leave, was decided by this Court on 25.05.2017. This Court affirmed the order of the High Court. However, in paragraph 17 of the aforesaid order, the following observations were made:

"17. In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the State of Haryana, if it wishes to give weightage for admission in post graduate courses under the proviso to Regulation 9(IV), it must come out with a fresh notification identifying remote and/or difficult areas as discussed in the present order, within one week from today and to facilitate the same, the last date for admission is extended to 10th of June, 2017."

5. Subsequent to the aforesaid order dated 25.05.2017, the petitioners' grievance is that no list for remote and difficult areas was drawn by the State and hurriedly a counselling was conducted information of which was only given to them by SMS on 30.05.2017, in the night. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the first counselling was completed on 31.05.2017, whereas second counselling for admissions in Post Graduate Courses was conducted on 06.06.2017 and 07.06.2017. It is submitted that Regulation 9(IV) of the 2000 Regulation envisages a weightage to those in-service doctors who have rendered their services in difficult and/or remote areas, and the petitioners who have served in difficult and/or remote areas are being deprived of their statutory weightage due to inaction on the part of the State. It is submitted that there was no reason after the order of this Court for not issuing a fresh list of difficult and/or remote areas. The State chooses not to issue a list and proceeded to complete the admission on Post Graduate Courses without giving weightage to any candidate of difficult and/or remote areas. It is further submitted that insofar as seats in Post Graduate Diploma Courses are concerned, it was the mandatory requirement of filling of the 50% of such seats