Legitimate classification based on residency for admission into medical programs is constitutional, ensuring local residents benefit while maintaining educational standards contrary to claims of discrimination.

JUDGMENT :

(Sunita Agarwal, CJ.)

1. The petitioner herein seeks to challenge the vires of Rules 4(3) and 4(6) of the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission in Undergraduate Courses) Rules, 2017, which has been framed by the State of Gujarat in exercise of powers conferred upon it by Sub-section (1) of Section 20 read with Section 4 of the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Colleges or Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Act, 2007.

2. The factual matrix of the claim of the petitioner as stated in the writ petition is that the petitioner belongs to Scheduled Tribe category born in the State of Gujarat in the city of Ahmedabad. His parents and grand parents were also born in the State of Gujarat. The father of the writ petitioner got employed in Canara Bank around the year 1988. While living in the State of Gujarat, the petitioner had passed SSC - 10th Standard Examination from Kendriya Vidyalaya located at Ahmedabad. In the year 2021, the father of the petitioner was transferred out of the State of Gujarat and the petitioner had completed 12th Standard Examination from Kendriya Vidyalaya at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It is stated in the writ petition that the Certificate of Scheduled Tribe and Domicile Certificate have been issued to the petitioner by the competent authorities in the months of May, 2023 and June, 2023; respectively. The petitioner had appeared in NEET examination, result of which was declared on 13.06.2023. When he had applied before the Admission Committee for admission in M.B.B.S. in the State of Gujarat in Scheduled Tribe (ST) quota, the petitioner was orally communicated that his candidature has been rejected by the Admission Committee for the reason that he has not passed 12th Standard Examination from the State of Gujarat. The occasion for filing the instant writ petition in the month of July, 2023 had, thus, arisen. By the draft amendment, the petitioner seeks to challenge the list of disqualified candidates updated at the website of the Admission Committee, namely, respondent No.2, published on 01.08.2023, wherein the name of the petitioner is reflected at Serial No.155. It is stated in the draft amendment that the list of eligible candidates in the ST category in Gujarat merit-list has also been displayed and the last candidate qualified in ST category is having NEET score of 286 and his CAT merit is ST-0534. Whereas the petitioner has attained NEET score of 310 and the petitioner’s rank would have been ST-0369, had he not disqualified on account of having not passed 12th Standard Examination from a school located in the State of Gujarat. It is stated that the only reason of rejection of the candidature of the petitioner is that the petitioner had passed 12th Standard Examination from a school located outside the State of Gujarat.

3. It is argued by the learned counsel for the petitioner that Rule 4(3) of the Rules, 2017 which prescribes the eligibility qualification for admission in a professional medical educational course in the State of Gujarat is discriminatory in nature as it excludes those children from the zone of consideration who though are domicile of the State of Gujarat but have studied in the schools located outside the State of Gujarat, on account of their parents having undertaken job outside the State of Gujarat. Rule 4(3) only includes those candidates who have passed 10th and 12th Standard qualifying examinations from :-

(i) The Gujarat Board; or

(ii) The Central Board of Secondary Education while studying in a school located in the State of Gujarat; or

(iii) The C