The central legal point established in the judgment is that admitting in-service candidates without a common entrance examination is unconstitutional and violates the principles of merit-based selection and the Medical Council Regulations.

BALASUBRAMANYAN, J.

( 1 ) THESE writ petitions challenge the decision taken by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Orissa in the form of a Resolution dated 31-8-2001 and the prospectus for admission to Post-Graduate (Medical) Courses, 2002 in the Government Medical Colleges of Orissa, though in O. J. C. Nos. 13722 of 2001 and 13755 of 2001 the prayer is confined to the quashing of the Resolution. The petitioners in these writ petitions are described as "in-service" candidates in the sense that they are serving under the Government of Orissa either in the Government Hospitals or in Orissa Government Undertakings. By Annexure 1 Resolution, the Government decided that the common entrance examination which was being conducted for all candidates aspiring to join the Post-Graduate (Medical) Courses should not be insisted upon for the "in-service" candidates since according to the State, the in-service candidates were not able to fill the quota of seats set apart for them by competing in the entrance examination. According to the Government, this resulted in the seats set apart for them reverting to general candidates who were writing the entrance examination and to ensure availability of Doctors for rural services in the State, it was necessary to devise a means of ensuring seats for the in-service candidates and the method to achieve it was to dispense with the necessity for entrance examination for those in-service candidates. It was this decision of the Government that was carried forward in the prospectus. We shall now refer to the relevant clauses of the prospectus.

( 2 ) CLAUSE 4 of the prospectus enumerates the seats available for the Post-Graduate (Medical) Courses in the three Government Medical Colleges of Orissa. The total number of seats available is shown to be 183. Ninety-four seats are set apart for in-service candidates including those reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and the Physically Handicapped. Eighty-nine seats are set apart for admission direct by way of entrance examination, inclusive of the seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, Physically Handicapped and the descendants of defence personnel. Clause 5 lays down the eligibility criteria of the candidates. Clause 6 deals with category of candidates. Clause 6. 1 says that an eligible candidate would be treated as in-service who at the time of application is in the employment of Government of Orissa or Undertakings of Government of Orissa, and who, by 31-3-2002 would complete not less than three years of service in undivided Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi districts and districts of Boudh, Gajapati, Kandhamal or not less than five years in rural areas or not less than seven years of service in all other areas. It is also provided that in-service doctors who at the time of application are in employment of the Government of Orissa or Undertakings of the Government of Orissa and had only rendered two years of service in undivided Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi districts including Kandhamal, Gajapati and Boudh or four years in rural areas or six years in other areas are eligible to appear in the entrance examination as direct candidates meaning that they were eligible to take the entrance examination.

( 3 ) IT is provided in Clause 6. 3 that doctors working under the State Government/government of Orissa Undertakings not coming under Clauses 6. 1 and 6. 2 will not be eligible to appear either as an in-service or as a direct candidate. In other words, doctors in-service who have not put in the period of service as referred to in Clause 6 would not be entitled to complete for admission at all to the Post-Graduate (Medical) Courses. But, as per Clause 6. 4, a candidate who fulfils the criteria of in-service candidate, if so desires, can apply as a direct candidate forgoing his/her claim as an in-service candidate by a declaration as per Appendix No. V. The declaration is to the effect that the person at present s