Technical glitches in online portals cannot justify leaving seats vacant, and courts can direct special measures to fill such vacancies.

JUDGMENT :

PANKAJ BHATIA, J.

1. Heard the counsel for the parties.

2. This court after hearing the parties had passed the following order on 16.07.2022:

The present petition has been filed alleging that the petitioner participated in the NEET SS to various super specialty DM/MCh/DrNB Courses in the academic sessions 2021-22 and secured 7th Rank in D.M. Geriatric Mental Health Branch. It is argued that in the Branch, in which the petitioner had qualified, there were three seats available and as the petitioner was ranked at Serial No. 7, the petitioner had to await his turn subject to six candidates before him exercising their option. It is argued that the candidates at Serial Nos. 1, 2 and 3 did not participate in the counselling, as such in the next round of counselling, the same was offered to the candidates placed at Serial Nos. 4, 5 and 6.

It is stated that the second round of counselling in respect of the said seats was held and as the seats had already been taken up by the candidates placed at Serial Nos. 4, 5 and 6, the seats were not reflected in the second round of counselling. Subsequent to the second round of counselling Dr. Sumit Mukherjee, the candidate placed at Serial No. 6 tendered his resignation on 27th April, 2022, as a result whereof one seat out of the total three seats of Geriatric Mental Health Branch became vacant. It is stated that the petitioner expected that the said seat vacated by Dr. Sumit Mukharjee would be available in the mop-up round of counselling conducted by the respondents, however, the said seat was not reflected for the proposed mop up round of assessed counselling 2021, as such the petitioner preferred the present writ petition.

In the present case, it has been averred that the seat matrix for the mop-up round of counselling was released on 27.05.2022 at around 3:00 p.m., which demonstrated that 612 unfilled seats were proposed to be filled up through mop-up round of counselling, however, the said seat vacated by Dr. Sumit Mukherjee was not reflected in the said seat matrix.

The petitioner came to know of the said fact that the seat vacated by Dr. Sumit Mukherjee is not reflected in the seat matrix of mop-up round of counselling, approached respondent no. 1 by writing through e-mails and prayed that the vacant seat of D.M. Geriatric Mental Health Branch should be included in the mop-up round of counselling, which became vacant on account of resignation of the 6th rank holder namely, Dr. Sumit Mukherjee.

When the writ petition was filed, this Court passed an interim order on 31st May, 2022 to the following effect:

“1. Sri S.B. Pandey, Senior Advocate and Additional Solicitor General of India assisted by Sri Anand Dubey appearing for the opposite parties, on the basis of instructions received from respondent No. 2-Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi, has informed this Court that the seat allotted to Dr. Sumit Mukherjee, who is said to have resigned, his seat has not been declared to be vacant and still appears to have been retained by him. It is on the strength of the aforesaid facts it is stated that the seat has not fallen vacant in King Georges’ Medical University, Lucknow and consequently in the aforesaid circumstances the petitioner cannot be allotted the said seat.

2. Contesting the aforesaid facts, learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the letter written by King Georges Medical University, Lucknow to respondent No. 2-Medical Counseling Committee (MCC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi dated 18.5.2022 informing that Dr. Sumit Mukherjee has resigned from the course of D.M. (Geriatric Medicine & Health) on 27.4.2022 and the petitioner being next in the merit list is entitled for allotment of the said seat.

3. In view of aforesaid facts, learned counsel for the opposite parties pray for and are granted three weeks’ time to file counter affida