The State Medical Faculty, in performing its duty of deciding whether candidates have been guilty of unfair means and what punishment should be inflicted, must not only act in good faith, but also fairly and reasonably and without violation of the principles of natural justice.

( 1 ) THE respondents in these 19 appeals are students of different medical schools who appeared at the Intermediate Licentiateship Examination of the State Medical Faculty of West Bengal in June, 1951, at the Burdwan Centre. Of them, some appeared only in the Anatomy paper and the rest in all the three subjects, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology. The written examination was held on the 7th June 1951, and the oral examination on the 18th June 1951. On the 28th June 1951, one of the three examiners in Physiology sent a report to the Secretary, State Medical Faculty, in which he stated that while correcting answer papers of questions Nos. 1 and 2 he found that almost all the answer papers were the same in language and content, that when the same questions were put to these candidates in the oral examination not a single student could answer them, that some of them could not follow the meaning of the answer paper when the contents were read to them and that in his opinion unfair means were taken by the candidates in the written examination either copying from slips of loose paper inside the examination hall or the answer papers were collected by the candidates from outside. The report concluded with the recommendation that the examination be cancelled. On the same date, one of the examiners in Anatomy submitted a report that on examination of written papers of the Burdwan Centre he found that three sets of, answers were in exactly the same language, that many of the students could not answer the same questions in oral examination and that there was a strong suspicion that the written papers were copied from three sets of slips brought from outside,

( 2 ) THESE reports were considered by the Board of Studies of the State Medical Faculty on that very date the 28th of June 1951, and finally after a further report of the examiners the Board came to the conclusion that a large number of candidates must have had with them either cut-out pages of certain portions of Gray's Anatomy and Chakravarti's Aids to Human Physiology or written copies of the same when writing their answers and used them in answering their questions. The Board of Studies sent this report to the 'governing Body' and this Body agreed with the above conclusion of the Board and resolved (1) that the examination of the term in all the subjects thereof of the 51 candidates be cancelled, (2) that the candidates may be allowed to appear at the"next usual half-yearly examination due in November 1951, subject to their satisfying the Superintendent by their conduct and attendance during the interval and payment of the usual fees. "

( 3 ) IN accordance with this resolution, a notice signed by the Secretary to the Medical Faculty to the effect that the examination of the 51 candidates, whose names were mentioned, had been cancelled for taking unfair means, was given.

( 4 ) THE Governing Body also decided that such of these students who had at a previous examination passed in the other two subjects -- i. e. Physiology and Pharmacology -- will have to appear in those subjects also.

( 5 ) AGGRIEVED by this order of cancellation of the examination, the 19 respondents applied to this Court for writs or orders under Article 226 of the Constitution directing withdrawal of the order of cancellation of the examination and publication of the results of the examination.

( 6 ) IN all the applications (1) Mr. B. C. Das Gupta, (2) Mr. M. N. Gupta, Secretary, (3) The State Medical Faculty of West Bengal and (4) the Board of Studies were made opposite parties.

( 7 ) BOSE J. who delivered one judgment on the application of Bejoyranjan Rakshit and others and another judgment on all the other applications came to the conclusion that the Governing Body had not exercised their powers reasonably and with due care and caution and had violated the first principle of natural justice by failing to give the candidates an opportunity to explain. He also rejected the contention