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2024 Supreme(J&K) 17
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU
JAVED IQBAL WANI, J.
Ayeda Jehan, D/o. Ghulam Nabi Shah - Petitioner
Versus
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through Additional Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, Civil Secretariat & Ors. - Respondents
WP(C) No. 2755 of 2023
Decided On : 21-02-2024
Important Points
Subject
Administrative Law - Education Law
Act Referred
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA : Art.226
JAMMU AND KASHMIR RESERVATION ACT : S.9
JAMMU AND KASHMIR RESERVATION RULES : R.15, R.17
RESERVATION RULES : R.17
Headnote
NEET PG 2023 - MDS Course - Dentists Act, 1948, Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005, SRO 49 of 2018, SRO 127 dated 20.04.2020, SRO 165 of 2019 - The court discussed the application of Rule 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005 and its deviation by the BOPEE in the allotment of disciplines/streams for MDS courses. The court highlighted the provisions of Rule 17 and its implications on the allocation of disciplines/streams, emphasizing the importance of merit-cum-preference and the procedure for allotment of disciplines/streams to reserved category candidates.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought to quash the provisional Selection List of NEET PG 2023 for MDS course and requested adherence to Reservation Rules, 2005 for discipline allotment. The petitioner, a RBA resident, secured 725th rank on all India basis and 19th rank in J&K. The petitioner's preferences were not adhered to, and she was allotted the 16th preference discipline, leading to the filing of the petition.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the BOPEE deviated from the procedure under Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules, 2005, resulting in the unfair allocation of disciplines/streams. The court emphasized the importance of merit-cum-preference and ruled in favor of the petitioner, commanding the swap of disciplines/streams between the petitioner and a private respondent to rectify the unfair allocation.
Issues: The issues revolved around the adherence to Reservation Rules, 2005 in the allotment of disciplines/streams for MDS courses, the petitioner's entitlement to her preferred discipline, and the deviation from the prescribed procedure by the BOPEE.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation and application of Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules, 2005, emphasizing the importance of merit-cum-preference and the procedure for allotment of disciplines/streams to reserved category candidates. The court ruled in favor of the petitioner, highlighting the unfair allocation of disciplines/streams and commanding the swap to rectify the injustice.
Final Decision: The petition was allowed, and the court issued a writ of mandamus commanding the swap of disciplines/streams between the petitioner and a private respondent to rectify the unfair allocation. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly along with connected application(s).
For the Petitioner: Mr. Sheikh Umar Farooq.
For the Respondents:Mr. Raman Sharma, AAG, Mr. Sumeet Bhatia, GA, Mr. Abhinav Sharma, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Abhirash Sharma.
JUDGMENT :
1. In the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner craves for indulgence of this court in granting the following reliefs:
(a) The provisional Selection List of NEET PG 2023 to the extent of MDS course issued vide notification No. 065-BOPEE of 2023 to extent of allotting of discipline to the private respondents (reserved category) dated 20.08.2023 may be quashed.
(b) The respondents be directed to adhere to the mandate of Rule 17 of the Reservation Rules, 2005 and SRO 49 of 2018 reproduced in Broacher and allot the preferred disciplines/seat to the petitioner respectively in accordance to the merit cum preference.
(c) Respondent no. 2 be directed to pay a compensation of Rupees Twenty Lakhs (Rs.20,00,000/-) to petitioner.
2. The background facts under the cover of which the petitioner claims the aforesaid reliefs are as under :
The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (for short, "BOPEE")-respondent 2 herein invited online applications from the eligible candidates for appearing in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (for short, "NEET") for admission to various MDS courses under Dentists Act, 1948 being conducted by National Board of Examination (for short, "NBE") with the following seat matrix in the Union Territory of J&K:
| Open Merit | 10 seats |
| Reserved Category | 10 seats |
| Economically Weaker Section | 1 seat |
| Total | 21 seats |
The petitioner claiming to be eligible for undergoing MDS course and a resident of backward area (RBA) states to have qualified the test under RBA category and secured 725th rank on all India basis and 19th rank in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir;
The petitioner claims to have submitted her preferences of disciplines/streams while seeking admission for MDS courses by email to the BOPEE in the following sequence as is referred in para 4 of the petition :
| Preference | Discipline | College |
| 1. | Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics | GDC-Jammu |
| 2. | Paedondontics and Preventive Dentistry | GDC-Jammu |
| 3. | Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics | GDC-Jammu |
| 4. | Prosthodontics, Crown and Bridge | GDC-Srinagar |
| 5. | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | GDC-Srinagar |
| 6. | Endodontics | GDC-Srinagar |
| 7. | Periodontics | GDC-Jammu |
| 8. | Oral Pathology and Microbiology | GDC-Srinagar |
| 9. | Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics | GDC-Srinagar |
| 10. | Paedondontics and Preventive Denistry | GDC-Srinagar |
| 11. | Prosthodontics, Crown and Bridge | GDC-Jammu |
| 12. | Oral and Madillofacial Surgery | GDC-Jammu |
| 13. | Oral Medicine and Radiology | GDC-Srinagar |
| 14. | Periodontics | GDC-Srinagar |
| 15. | Oral Medicine and Radiology | GDC-Jammu |
| 16. | Oral Pathology and Microbiology | GDC-Jammu |
Consequent to the declaration of the result by NBE and submission of preferences by the candidates, the BOPEE issued the provisional merit list on 20.08.2023 of the candidates belonging to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir having been provisionally selected for admission to MDS courses and other PG courses.
The petitioner herein came to be allotted the discipline/stream of Pathology and Microbiology being her 16th preference at UT level whereas, the private respondents 5 to 10 herein came to be allotted the disciplines/streams at UT level and details thereof vis-à-vis the preferences given by the petitioner qua the disciplines/streams are provided hereunder in the tabulated form:
| S. No. | Discipline | Petitioner’s preference number | Person to whom allotted | Rank at Union Territory Level |
| 1. | Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics | 1st | MRC | 13 |
| 2. | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | 5th | Respondent No. 5 | 24 |
| 3. | Conservative Dentistry and Endodon | |||
