IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of preserving merit in the admission process for Post-Graduate Medical Courses, despite deviations from the admission rules and the court's directions.

JUDGMENT :

D. BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J.

Prayer: Contempt Petition filed under Section 11 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, to punish the respondents herein for the deliberate violation of the orders of the Court in W.A. No. 2863 of 2023 in order, dated 17.10.2023 as per the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act.

1. This Contempt Petition has been filed complaining willful disobedience of the order of this Court in W.A. No. 2863 of 2023, dated 17.10.2023.

2. According to the petitioner, by erroneous and illegal departure from the rules laid down in the prospectus in respect of the admission to the Post-Graduate Medical Courses in the State of Tamil Nadu for the Academic Year 2023-2024, the candidates who had already choice locked their seats in Round-I, Round-II and Round-III under the All India Quota were permitted to take part in Round-III for the seats which fell under the State Quota. Therefore, the Writ Petition in W.P. No. 29086 of 2023 was filed by him.

3. The prayer in the said Writ Petition was to call for the records on the file of the third respondent namely, the Secretary, Selection Committee in respect of the notification, dated 27.09.2023 and the consequential re-allotment/allotment issued for the Round-III of Counselling, dated 29.09.2023 by the Director of Medical Education and Research, Chennai and to quash the same and to consequently direct the respondents to conduct Mop-Up Counselling for allotment of Post-Graduate seats in General Medicine directly by following the conditions of the prospectus, more specifically, Clause-27 of the prospectus without allowing the candidates who have joined the seat in the Round-I and Round-II of Counselling and without allowing the candidate who has been allocated a seat in the Round-III of Counselling in All India Quota.

4. Initially, an interim order was granted restraining the respondents from publishing the results of the State Quota Round-III. Ultimately, by an order, dated 11.10.2023, the learned Single Judge found that the rules of the admission were changed in the course of the game. However, since the Round-III has been conducted with several candidates participating, the learned Single Judge was not inclined to disturb the entirety of the exercise at that juncture. The said finding in paragraph No. 71 of the order is extracted for ready reference:

“71. This Court also considered briefly the possibility that order passed in W.P. No. 28314 of 2023 dated 25.09.2023 be taken to be applicable to those Writ Petitioners alone. However, since Round III has been conducted with several candidates participating, I am not inclined to disturb the entirety of the exercise at this juncture.”

5. Thereafter, the learned Single Judge proceeded further to consider some of the specific seats as published in the website of the Director General of Health Services and rendered the following finding:

“76. The petitioner has obtained from the DGHS website the following details in regard to the seats proposed to be allotted to the candidate ranked higher than him: