JUDGMENT

P. K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, CJ. — These writ petitions challenge the decision taken by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Govern¬ment 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 con¬fined 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 Govern¬ment 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 revert¬ing to general candidates who were writing the entrance e