The Principal of a medical college lacks authority to remove a student from the college rolls after the student has completed their M.B.B.S. course and internship.

1. Ranbir Singh, petitioner, was admitted to the M. B. B. S. course at the Medical College, Amritsar in June/July, 1970, against one of the seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste candidates. He successfully completed the five years course of studies prescribed by the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (hereinafter called the University ). He appeared in the M.B.B.S. final examination in December, 1974 and was declared successful subject to the condition that he was to reappear in two subjects upto April, 1976, i.e., (i) Medicine etc. and (ii) Ophthalmology and E. N. T. He had already appeared in the above mentioned two subjects, but the University had not declared his result. The Medical Council of India has prescribed 12 months period of internship for the purposes of registration with it. After the petitioner was declared successful in the M. B. B. S. Examination, he was allowed to join as an internee. He successfully completed the period of internship in June, 1976. He left the hostel premises from 30.06.1976 and ceased to be a student of the said college. He has already been granted a provisional Medical Registration Certificate by the Punjab Medical Council on 4.07.1975. It is alleged in para 9 of the petition that the principal, Medical College, Amritsar, issued a notice dated 24.06.1976 to the petitioner, in which it was stated that the Scheduled Caste Certificate, on the strength of which the petitioner was admitted to the M. B. B. S. Course, had been reported to be false, and, consequently, the petitioner was called upon to show cause why his name be not removed from the college rolls as per provision contained in the college prospectus. A copy of the said notice is Annexure P-3 to the writ petition which is in the following terms:-

"You were admitted to the 1st Year M. B. B. S. Course of this College against one of the seats reserved for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes. Your Scheduled Caste Certificate on the strength of which you were admitted to the course has been reported to be false subsequent of your taking admission to this course. You are, therefore, called upon to show cause as to why your name be not removed from the college rolls as per provision contained in the college prospectus.

This show cause notice is being served upon you in accordance with the instructions of the Punjab Government/Director, Research and Medical Education, Punjab, Chandigarh received with his endstt. No. 2055-2NE (4) pb76/-12028/ dated 31-5-1976.

In case you have to say anything against the above, you are directed to produce irrefutable evidence of your being a Scheduled Caste by the 30th June, 1976, positively in duplicate otherwise the undersigned will be constrained to remove your name from the college rolls."

It is against this notice that the present petition has been filed. The return to the writ petition has only been filed by the Principal, Medical College, Amritsar (respondent No. 2).

2 Mr. Kuldip Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, has contended that the Principal, Medical College, Amritsar had ho authority in law to issue such a notice as petitioner was no longer a student of the Medical College having already qualified for M. B. B. S. Degree by completing his post-examination training, which is called internship. I find merit in the contention raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner. The petitioner was admitted to the Medical College, Amritsar, in the year 1970. He has completed the M. B. B. S. Course as also internship training successfully. It is not now open to the Principal or any other authority to say that the petitioner had obtained admission by fraud on the basis of a false certificate. It was incumbent on the authorities to verify the correctness or falsity of the certificate at the time of admission or within a reasonable period of 3/4 months. Now after six years, when the petitioner has completed the M. B. B. S. Course and the internship training, it is not desirable that