JUDGMENT

SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J. (ORAL)

1. The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India on behalf of the petitioner-institute i.e. Smt. Manjira Devi Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital seeking the following relief:

“i a) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate Writ(s) and/or Order(s) and /or Direction(s) to allow the students of the batch of 2022 to appear for the regular as well as electives examinations for the entire course duration along with other relevant examinations for the course; and/or”.

2. The case set out by the petitioner-institute i.e. Smt. Manjira Devi Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital, is that it is the sole Ayurveda medical college located within the nine hilly districts of Uttarakhand. This self-financed institution offers the B.A.M.S. (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) course. It is stated that historically, admissions to the course were conducted based on the merit list prepared from candidates’ qualifying examination scores, as directed by respondent no. 1 i.e. Uttarakhand Ayurveda University. However, since 2021, the institute has been required to admit students exclusively through the National