JUDGMENT - H.L. GOKHALE, J.:---All these petitioners are graduate students, who have applied for the admission to M.B.A./M.M.S. Course for which Common Entrance Test was conducted in the month of May 2001. The interviews for the successful candidates were and are being held in the month of July 2001. The petitioners were required to fill necessary application forms for these courses and while filling the forms, they were required to state as to whether they were claiming admission in the open category or for a reversed backward class.

2.It is the admitted position that none of the petitioners mentioned in their forms that they belonged to any backward class. Since the marks of all the petitioners were quite low, there was no chance of their being considered for the interview in the open category. At this stage, they have tried to contend by filing these petitions that they belong to the backward classes and now they ought to be considered on the basis of this new information which has been supplied in these petitions. In as much as the petitioners did not claim earlier that they belong to any particular backward class and since they had not furnished the caste certificates alongwith the application forms, Mr. Govilkar, learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that in the application form there was no requirement of submitting the caste certificate alongwith the forms. Be that as it may, by enclosing their caste certificates they have now come to this Court praying that the respondents be directed to consider the petitioners as the eligible candidates for the admission to these post graduate courses in the particular reserved categories.

3.Mr. Govilkar, learned Counsel for the petitioner drew our attention to the various clauses from the Information Brochure. He drew our attention to the particular form to be filled in. That form however clearly requires the category to be specified. Then he drew our attention to the Clause 6.1.8. of the Brochure, which requires the candidates to produce caste certificate at the time of Group Discussions and Personal Interviews. Thereafter he referred us to the detailed procedure of Admission which is held in different rounds and which is provided at page 22 of this Brochure. These details in all provide for four rounds. As far as the reserved categories are concerned, upto first 3 rounds namely rounds numbered as (a), (b) and (c), if any seats remain vacant in the particular reserved category after filing the seats by the candidates who have applied for that particular reserved category, these vacant seats are to be made available to the candidates of other reserved categories. It is only thereafter i.e. under round (d) that if there are still any vacancies they will go to the open category. Mr. Govilkar has submitted that though these petitioners are now belatedly seeking admission in the reserved category, they should be considered at the end of round (c) and by keeping them at bottom of the list of candidates of these various reserved categories.

4.Mr. Govilkar firstly relied upon the order of a Division Bench of this Court dated 25th June, 2001 (Coram : A.P. Shah and S.A. Bobde, JJ.) in Writ Petition Lodging No. 1508 of 2001 in the case of (Ishita M. Patani v. The State of Maharashtra and others)1. This Order in turn refers to another Order dated 7-9-2000 passed by this Court in (Writ Petition No. 4775 of 2000)2. Mr. Govilkar states that both these matters were pertaining to admission to medical courses and initially while filling the forms those candidates had also not claimed admission in the reserved category. The order in Writ Petition No. 4775 of 2000 was not shown to us but the order in the case of Ishita Patani refers to Writ Petition No. 4775 of 2000 as a similar case.

5.Now when we see this order, all that this order states is as follows :

"Heard the learned Counsel for the parties. Since the petitioner has not claimed admission in the reserved category she is being treated as a can

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