The central legal point established in the judgment is the significance of prior recognition of diploma courses under the Indian Medical Council Act, the impact of subsequent de-recognition, and the lack of entitlement to claim equity based on the completion of unrecognized diploma courses.

JUDGMENT :

R. D. DHANUKA, J.

Rule. Mr. Rodrigues, learned Special Counsel for the respondent No. 1 waives service. Mr. Gole, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 waives service. By consent of parties, all three petitions were heard together and are being disposed of by a common order.

2. Learned counsel for the parties jointly state that the facts and issues raised in all three petitions are identical and thus the judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No. 3402 of 2021 would apply to other two writ petitions. Some of the relevant facts for the purpose of deciding these petitions are as under :—

3. By these petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners seek a declaration that all the petitioners and the students appearing at Exhibit ‘A’ are admitted to recognized courses and are eligible to pursue secondary DNB course being conducted by National Board of Examinations. The petitioners also seek order and directions against the National Board of Examination to consider the petitioners and students appearing at Exhibit ‘A’ to the writ petition as eligible and allow them to appear for Common Entrance Test (CET) scheduled to be held on or about 9th May, 2021 for admission to secondary DNB courses.

4. It is the case of the petitioners that all the petitioners and the students whose names are appearing in Exhibit ‘A’ to the petition were admitted to MBBS course in their respective recognised medical colleges situated in various parts of India and/or abroad. All the petitioners after passing their MBBS course also completed compulsory internship and were conferred with recognised MBBS degree by their respective Universities and became eligible to pursue post graduate diploma or degree courses conducted by various statutory bodies like Universities and/or Deemed University and/or College of Physicians and Surgeon (CPS) and/or National Board of Examination. It is the case of the petitioners that after passing MBBS course with internship they decided to take admission to post graduate courses which are recognized by the Medical Council of India and appearing in the Schedule to the Indian Medical Council Act (for short “the IMC Act”).

5. It is the case of the petitioners that at the relevant time, all the petitioners came across the Notification dated 17th October, 2017 issued by the respondent Union of India on the recommendations of Medical Council of India.

6. By the said Notification, all the diploma qualifications awarded by the CPS came to be recognized with retrospective effect from the year 2009, as stipulated under section 11 of the IMC Act. All the petitioners therefore decided to take admission to diploma courses of CPS which are recognized by the Union of India according to the petitioners. The petitioners were selected to various diploma courses in the hospitals affiliated to the CPS. All the petitioners came to be admitted between 17th October, 2017 and 12th February, 2018 for 2 years diploma courses of CPS. It is the case of the petitioners that all the petitioners attended the said course regularly and appeared for annual examination conducted by CPS and passed the same.

7. It is the case of the petitioners that National Board of Examination conducts postgraduate degree courses under the nomenclature which is known as DNB PG course which is of 3 years and the same can be pursued by the students after obtaining MBBS degree from the recognized University. If the student completes MBBS degree course and gets admission to DNB primary course, he had to complete the same by undertaking the course for 3 years. The student who after passing MBBS course, obtains diploma, then he is allowed to pursue DNB Secondary course which is of 2 years. Such student gets exemption of one year in completing PG DNB degree course. National Board of Examinations conducts CET every year.

8. As per the Rules framed by the National Board of Examinations for being eligible to pursue secondary DNB course, student is r