Reservation of postgraduate medical seats based on domicile is constitutional, supporting local education while respecting equality principles.

1. The petitioners by the instant petition have prayed for the following substantial reliefs : -
' A writ and / or an order in the nature of writ of certiorari or any other writ, do issue quashing the condition i.e. Clause No. 6.2 of Pre. P.G. Entrance Examination, 2009, prescribing that the candidates appearing the Pre. P.G. Examination must be a bona fide resident of the Chhattisgarh be struck down, as violative of fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of India.
' A writ and / or an order in the nature of writ of mandamus do issue commanding and directing the respondent authorities to allow the petitioners to appear in the Pre. P.G. Entrance Examination, 2009 scheduled to be held on 11-4-2009 after accepting the form and other necessary documents available with the petitioners and if the petitioners qualify for the P.G. course, then be allowed to pursue their studies as per the rules prescribed in P.G. Medical Course.

2. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that they were selected in all India Pre. Medical Test Entrance Examination and thereafter the Government of India, Directorate of Health Services allotted them seats in the Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur, against 15% reserved All India Quota. After obtaining degree, they got themselves registered with the Chhattisgarh Medical Council (Annexure - P / 3).

3. The grievance of the petitioners is that they have obtained M.B.B.S. degree from Medical College, Raipur. They have been registered by the State Medical Council and thus, they are entitled to practice medical profession throughout the country. At the time of their admission, they were eligible to appear in the Pre P. G. Entrance Examination, as per prevailing eligibility criteria under R.6.2 of the Chhattisgarh Pre P.G. Admission Examination Rules. However, in Chhattisgarh Pre P.G. Admission Examination 2009, eligibility criteria, as contained in R.6.2 of the Chhattisgarh Medical Snatkottar Pravesh Pariksha Niyam, 2004 (for short 'the Rules, 2004'), has been amended to their detriment by prescribing that the candidate seeking admission to Post Graduate Course should be bona fide resident of the Chhattisgarh in terms of the definition laid down by the Government of Chhattisgarh apart from other conditions.

4. Shri B. P. Sharma, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners were allotted seats in the Medical College, Raipur of the State of Chhattisgarh against the prescribed All India Quota. By prescribing eligibility criteria of bona fide resident, 100% seats have been reserved for the candidates, who are bona fide residents of the Chhattisgarh or employees working under the Government of Chhattisgarh, which is not permissible. The same violates basic structure of the Federal State which guarantees every person to settle at any part of India and carry on any business for his livelihood and thus, the same violates Art.14, Art.15, Art.16, Art.19 and Art.21 of the Constitution of India.

5. Reliance is placed in the matters of Dr. Pradeep Jain v. Union of India , 1984 (3) SCC 654 : AIR 1984 SC 1420 , Dr. Parag Gupta v. University of Delhi , 2000 (5) SCC 684 : AIR 2000 SC 2319 , Dr. Prachi Almeida v. Dean, Goa Medical College , 2001 (7) SCC 640 : AIR 2001 SC 3418 , and Saurabh Chaudri v. Union of India , 2003 (11) SCC 146 : AIR 2004 SC 361 .

6. On the other hand, respondents No. 1 and 2 in their return as well as in their oral submissions, submitted that in the Medical College Raipur, in all 40 seats are available in the Post Graduation Cou