JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J. - The present writ petition concerns the decision of the respondent-All India Institute of Medical Sciences ["AIIMS"] to reject the candidature of the petitioner no. 1-Ramgopal Sharma ["Sharma"] for admission to the M.Sc. (Nursing) course in the 2021 admission session, on the ground that he had obtained the B.Sc. (Nursing) degree through distance education.

Facts

2. AIIMS offers various post-graduate (Masters degree) courses, including the M.Sc. (Nursing) course. For admission in the year 2021, it issued an Admission Notice, published on 02.03.2021, followed by a prospectus, which was uploaded on 27.04.2021 ["the Prospectus"]. These covered M.Sc. (Nursing), M.Sc. courses and M. Biotechnology. As far as the M.Sc. (Nursing) course is concerned, seven specialties were offered, including Paediatric Nursing. For the M.Sc. courses, the Prospectus enumerated eight specialties. For the M.Sc. (Nursing) course, in addition to the seats offered in various other categories, one seat in each specialty was reserved for AIIMS In-Service candidates.

3. Sharma is employed by AIIMS as a Nursing Officer since 2007. Prior to that, he completed a course in General Nursing and Mid