( 1 ) THIS batch of writ petitions are filed challenging the action of the first respondent praying this Court :". . . . may be pleased to issue a writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of writ of mandamus declaring the procedure adopted by the University authorities in making the selection and admission into the 1st Year MBBS Course for the academic year 1998-99 is contrary to law and illegal and consequently set aside the provisional admissions made in pursuance of the Notification dated 21-11-1998 and further direct the respondent University to make the selection strictly in accordance with the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in Ritesh R. Sah case and grant such other relief, as this Hon ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. "

( 2 ) IT is agreed by all the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the various parties that Writ Petition No. 33489 of 1998 can be treated as representative of all the Writ Petitions and the facts as averred in the said writ petition be taken as the basic facts for the purpose of determining the issue. All the petitioners claim to belong to Backward Classes and claim that they have appeared for EAMCET-1998 Entrance Examination held on 14-5-1998. The details of the ranks obtained by each of the petitioners are given in the annexures to the affidavits filed in support of the writ petitions. In substance the case of the petitioners is that, the process of allotting seats to the various reserved categories of students like Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, adopted by the first respondent-University, which is admittedly the competent authority to make the allotment is illegal and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India as explained by the Apex Court in the case of Ritesh R. Sah v. Dr. Y. L. Yamul, AIR 1996 SC 1378.

( 3 ) IT appears that the first respondent-University initially issued a notification dated 1-8-1998 notifying that the selection for the provisional admission for the first year MBBS, Course for the academic year 1998-99 will be held on 8-8-1998 to 14-8-1998 at the Osmania University College, Hyderabad. The notification further read (insofar as it is relevant for our purpose) as follows :". . . . . The BC, SC and ST Candidates selected under Open Competition will be re-allotted later to the College of higher option by shifting the same category candidates with lesser rank to the resultant vacancies as per the option given in the application form. "

( 4 ) IN the meanwhile, there were some writ petitions filed questioning the ranks assigned to the candidates in this Court and in view of the certain interim directions passed by this Court earlier, the selection process scheduled between 8-8-1998 to 14-8-1998 was postponed. Subsequently, another notification dated 12-11-1988 was issued by the first respondent-University, indicating the selection will be held from 21-11-1998 to 3-12-1998 and in the said notification the clause which is extracted above in the original notification dated 1-8-1998 is dropped; instead a new clause was inserted, which reads as follows :"as per the notification dated 21-11-1998 all the candidates upto Rank 1200 would be called during 27-11-1998 to 30-11-1998 and on 1-12-1998 all the BC, SC and ST candidates will be called upto Rank 2400. The counselling is scheduled upto 3-12-1998. "

( 5 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners, the respondent-University has not followed the Rules framed under the G. O. Ms. No. 184 Education dated 20-8-1993, which Rules deal with the admission into Under-Graduate Professional Courses. The said Rules arc framed in pursuance of the power conferred under Section 15 of the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions and Prohibition of Capitation Act (Act No. 5 of 1983 ). The factual averments in support of such an allegation are as follows :". . . . . However that procedure has not been followed for admission into the MBBS Course for the acade