( 1 ) THE seven Post-Graduate students of ENT of Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Hyderabad, are the petitioners. They seek a declaration that the theory and practical examinations of the second petitioner in M. S. and the first petitioner in Diploma in Otolaryngology (DLO) held in May, 2000, as vitiated by bias and malice and for a direction to respondents 1 to 3 to send the theory papers of petitioners 1 and 2 for revaluation to an independent examiner and for a further direction to conduct practical re-examination of petitioners 1 and 2, without the fifth respondent as examiner. The first and second respondents are N. T. R. University of Health Sciences and its Vice-Chancellor respectively. The third and fourth respondents are the Director of Medical Education (DME) and the State of Andhra Pradesh respectively and the fifth respondent is Professor and Head of the Department of ENT, GMC, who is impleaded in personal capacity.

( 2 ) PETITIONERS 2, 3, 6 and 7 are the students of M. S. in E. N. T. Petitioners 1, 4 and 5 are students of DLO. The fifth respondent joined GMC as Professor in September 1999. He threatened the students that he will fail the students in the final examination if they disobey to serve him by attending to his personal work. It is also alleged that the fifth respondent did not allow the students to see the patients and always abused them. This unpleasant teacher-student relationship in Post-Graduate medical course reached its unfortunate end.

( 3 ) THE petitioners went on strike on 12-9-1999. They protested against the conduct and action of the fifth respondent. The problem snowballed and other interns and Post-Graduate students joined the strike. The agitation was called off after ten days. The DME convened a meeting and assured the petitioners that all of them would be withdrawn from ENT unit of GMC and would be transferred to some other hospital where the fifth respondent will not be posted as teacher/examiner. Accordingly, the DME issued proceedings in Rc. No. Spl/99, dt. 22-9-1999 by which the Principal of the College was advised to depute Post-Graduate students of ENT unit to the existing blue unit of Osmania University Medical College (OMC) in Government ENT Hospital, Koti, Hyderabad, on a permanent basis till the fifth respondent remains posted as Professor in GMC College/hospital. The Principal then issued consequential orders on 22-9-1999 transferring the petitioners 1, 3, 4 and 6 to Government ENT Hospital, Koti, Hyderabad. The petitioners were under professorship of Dr. N. Radha Krishna of blue unit of OMC and Dr. M. V. Satyanarayana Rao, Professor of red unit of GMC in Government ENT Hospital.

( 4 ) THE final examinations - for M. S. , students after three years study and for D. L. O. students after two years study - were held from 8-5-2000 to 15-5-2000. Petitioners 1 and 2 appeared for M. S. The practical examinations were held on 18-5-2000 for M. S. and diploma courses. Dr. M. V. Satyanarayana, retired Professor of GMC, and Dr. K. Dwarakanath, Professor of OMC, besides two external examiners - from Chennai in Tamil Nadu and from Kolar in Karnataka, were examiners. The petitioners were surprised to know that the fifth respondent was posted as chief-examiner. But, still petitioners 1 and 2 appeared for the examinations. The petitioners allege that though the practical examinations were to be held as per schedule for students of OMC and GMC, at the instance of the fifth respondent the practical examination centre was shifted to Gandhi Hospital. During the practical examination, it is alleged that, the fifth respondent prevailed over the external examiners and petitioners 1 and 2 were awarded very low grades in theory papers. They were declared failed. The petitioners submitted representations on 24-5-2000 followed by reminders on 31-5-2000 to the fourth respondent, in vain. Hence, they approached this Court.

( 5 ) THE matter was heard on 23-6-2000 on preliminary issues. When the m