JUDGMENT :

1. These writ petitions, since involve common question, as such with the consent of the counsel for the parties, are decided by this common order.

2. The petitioners, in the present writ petitions, are in-service Doctors who have challenged letter/order dated 08.01.2022 whereby the State Government has decided to consider the experience of in-service Doctors to be counted upto 30.09.2021 for the purpose of award of bonus marks while making admission in Post Graduate Medical Courses.

3. The facts, in nutshell, as pleaded in the writ petitions are that the petitioners participated in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test -Postgraduate, 2021 (for short 'NEET PG 2021') held on 11.09.2021 and all of them were declared successful in the said examination. The petitioners, being government Doctors working in the remote, difficult & rural areas, applied as in-service candidates in NEET PG 2021 examination and they all were entitled for incentive marks for the services rendered by them in remote, difficult & rural areas.

4. The petitioners have pleaded that initially a notification dated 14.04.2020 was issued declaring remote, difficult and rural areas and the relevant date for calculating bonus marks was prescribed as 30.04.2020.

5. The petitioners have pleaded that for Pre-PG 2021, the State Government had initially issued a letter dated 18.03.2021 whereby cut-off date for calculating the experience was prescribed as 30.04.2020.

6. The petitioners have pleaded that surprisingly another letter/order has been issued on 08.01.2020 by which cut-off date, for calculation of experience for the purpose of giving bonus/incentive marks, is extended from 30.04.2021 to 30.09.2021.

7. The petitioners have pleaded that the State Government surprisingly has made a reference of letter dated 26.10.2021 issued by the Medical Counseling Committee for extending the date to 30.09.2021 and the said date was only in relation to completion of internship by MBBS graduates and it had nothing to do with the in-service Doctors.

8. The petitioners have also pleaded that the impugned letter dated 08.01.2022 permits the candidates to get the benefit of bonus marks, for which otherwise they are entitled for in the next year of counseling i.e. 2022 and the National Board of Examination has also announced the schedule for NEET PG 2022 by holding the said examination on 12.03.2022.

9. Mr.N.K.Maloo, Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners has made following submissions:-

9.1 Cut-off date of 30th April of each year was prevailing practice for the State Government since 2018 for counting experience of in-service Doctors and long prevailing practice has been changed by the respondents this year in an arbitrary manner.

9.2 Granting of bonus marks by counting experience upto 30.09.2021 has completely changed the zone of consideration/the merit of in-service Doctors, who will complete their service of 1/2/3 years as on 30.09.2021. The said change is to the prejudice of the petitioners and other candidates having cascading effect, which is explained by citing an example that one person having 513 merit position shifted to 190 by granting him benefit of one year.

9.3 The State Government, while filing reply in S.B.Civil Writ Petition No.11583/2021 (Jitendra Singh Nitharwal v. State), had specifically taken a stand that candidates are provided experience on the basis of an ascertained cut-off date and the same is sacrosanct. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that once the State Government has taken a stand by filing affidavit on 04.01.2021, the extension of date by issuing notification dated 08.01.2022 is like taking a U-Turn and the State Government cannot be permitted to shift its stand.

9.4 The State Government has not kept in mind the relevant consideration while changing the date of counting experience as the category of freshers/MBBS students to complete their internship during COVID-19 period upto 30.09.2021 is altogether on a different footing and the same logic