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PETITIONER: HANDIBANDHU RAUTHARAO AND ORS ETC. ETC.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF ORISSA AND ORS. ETC. ETC.

DATE OF JUDGMENT01/07/1985

BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) PATHAK, R.S. MUKHARJI, SABYASACHI (J)

CITATION:  1985 SCR  Supl. (1) 810  1985 SCC  (4)  47  1985 SCALE  (2)99

ACT:      Constitution of  India, Article  32-Admission  to  Post Graduate courses  in medical  colleges-Substantial change in the scheme  of grating  admissions to Post Graduate Courses- Whether constitutes  infringement of  fundamental  right  to admission-Scheme formulated.

HEADNOTE:      Until the  academic session  1978-79, the Post Graduate Medical course  in the  State of  Orissa was  envisaged as a course of  three years  duration which  period  included  an appointment for  one  year  on  the  Resident  House  Staff. Admission to  the three  year course  was  made  through  an Entrance Examination,  and  after  completing  the  Resident House Staff  appointment, there  was no  further examination for admission  to the  Post Graduate  course. The scheme was changed  with  effect  from  the  session  1978-79  and  the Resident House  Staff course  was  delinked  from  the  Post Graduate   course.    Accordingly,   separate    competitive examinations were prescribed for recruitment to the Resident House Staff  and  the  Post  Graduate  course.  A  candidate appearing in  the entrance  examination  for  Post  Graduate course should  have passed  the final  M.B.B.S. examination, satisfactorily  completed   the  internship,  acquired  full registration and  in  addition  should  have  completed  the Resident House Staff term in a subject during one year.      The petitioner/medical  graduates  from  the  State  of Orissa filed writ petitions in Supreme Court challenging the new  scheme,   under  which  it  became  necessary  for  the candidates seeking  provisional admission to a Post Graduate course to  appear again at an examination for such admission after completing  the Resident House Staff appointment. They contended that  under the original scheme they were entitled to take  the Entrance  Examination for  recruitment  to  the Resident House  Staff at  any recognised  institution in the country, even  though it lay outside the State of Orissa and on completing that course they were entitled without more to admission to  a Post  Graduate Medical  course in  a Medical College in Orissa. Some of the petitioners had already taken the examination  for recruitment to the Resident House Staff in a  Medical College  in Orissa  and successfully completed

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that course  and  they  also  objected  to  the  requirement envisaged by the new scheme.      Disposing of the Writ Petitions, the Court, 811 ^      HELD: 1.  It is consistent with reason and justice that those petitioners  before the  Supreme Court who were either pursuant to  the relief  granted by  the A  High Court or in compliance with  interim order  made by  the Supreme  Court, granted admission to a Post Graduate Medical course and have since completed that course and after having appeared in the examination for  the academic  year  1981-82  been  declared successful, should  not be  disturbed and  should be allowed the benefit  of the  success at  the examination. Therefore, these admissions are affirmed. [815 D-E]      2. The provisional admission of some of the petitioners to a  Post Graduate course by tho Medical Colleges in Orissa in compliance  with the interim orders of this Court made on different dates, should be regarded as an admission of final validity entitling them to its consequential benefits, since they have completed the Post Graduate Course. [815 F-G]      3.  There  are  writ  petitions  in  which  this  Court directed the  provisional admission  of the  petitioners but they could not be admitted because of the non-availablity of seats and  in some  of  the  writ  petitions  no  order  for provisional admission  of the  petitioners has  been made by the Supreme Court. They are disposed of as follows:-      Since the  scheme  respecting  admission  to  the  Post Graduate Medical  course has  been modified  again  and  the present position,  enunciated in the prospectus for the year 1982-83 is that medical graduates who have appeared and been selected at  the examination for recruitment to the Resident House Staff  are  entitled  automatically,  on  successfully completing that  term of  appointment, to  admission to  the Post  Graduate   course,   and   no   Entrance   Examination specifically for  such examination is now contemplated, this Court directs  that those  petitioners who have successfully completed the  term of  one year  as Resident House Staff in the medical  Colleges of  Orissa will  be  entitled  without having to  appear at  any further  Entrance  Examination  to admission to  the relevant  Post Graduate  course.  However, those petitioners  who have  completed the  term as Resident House Staff  in approved Medical institutions in India other than the  Medical Colleges  in Orissa should be permitted to appear  at   the   Entrance   Examination   prescribed   for appointment to  the Resident  House Staff,  and that if they are successful  in the  said Entrance Examination, they will be entitled  to admission  to  the  relevant  Post  Graduate course for  the next following session without being obliged to work  on the Resident House Staff in the Medical Colleges in Orissa.  This arrangement  entitling these petitioners to admission to a Post Graduate course without having to fill a Resident House  Staff appointment  will obtain  only if they appear for  the  entrance  examination  for  appointment  as Resident House Staff in the same subject in which they claim to have  already served as Resident House Staff earlier. If, however-and it  will be open to them to do so they appear at the entrance  examination in  a different  subject, and  are successful therein  they shall  be obliged  to serve for the stipulated term  in a  Resident House  Staff appointment  in relation to  that subject  before  being  entitled,  of  the completion of  that term,  to admission in the corresponding Post Graduate course. [816A; 819 C-E; 817 A-D] 812

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JUDGMENT:      ORIGINAL JURISDICTION:  Writ Petition  No. 1756 of 1981 etc. etc.      Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.      G.L.  Sanghi,  V.M.  Tarkunde,  B.P.  Maheshwari,  B.P. Singh, A.K.  Panda, Mrs.  Uma Jain,  M.A.  Firoz,  Dr.  B.S. Chuahan, J.R.  Das, M.C. Dhingra, Ambrish Kumar, R.B.B. Ray, V.B. Joshi, B. Parthasarthi and C.S.S. Rao for the appearing Petitioners. e    R.N. Keshwani for the Respondent Nos. 3 to 10.      M.K.  Banerjee,   Additional  Solicitor  General,  D.P. Mahapatra and  K.K. Mehta  for  the  Respondent.  (State  of Orissa)      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by      PATHAK,J: The  petitioners are  medical  graduates  who took the  M. B.  B. S.  degree in the year 1978 from Medical Colleges in  the State  of Orissa.  In the  year  1979  they underwent a  one year  period of  internship at  the Medical Colleges from  which they  had  graduated.  The  petitioners allege  that   thereafter,  having   passed  the   pertinent examination for  recruitment to  the Resident  House  Staff, they completed  the one  year term  of appointment either in the Wilmington  Hospital, New Delhi, or in the Post Graduate Institute  of   Medical  Sciences,   Chandigarh.  Upon   the conclusion of  their term on the Resident House Staff by the end of  the year  1980, the  petitioners contend  that  they became entitled  to admission to a Post Graduate course at a Medical College  in Orissa.  The duration  of  that  course, according to the petitioners, is two years. The grievance of the petitioners is that the Medical Colleges in the State of Orissa have  new put  into force  a different  scheme, under which  it   has  become  necessary  for  candidates  seeking admission  to  a  Post  Graduate  course  to  appear  at  an examination for such admission after completing the Resident House Staff  appointment. The petitioners urge that they are not obliged  to appear  at  any  such  examination  and  are entitled as  of right  to admission  in  the  Post  Graduate course.      It appears  that until the academic session 1978-79 the Post Graduate  course was  envisaged as  a course  of  three years duration, which period included an appointment for one year on  the Resident  House Staff.  Admission to  the three year course was made through 813 an Entrance  Examination, and  after completing the Resident House Staff appointment there was no further examination for admission to  the  Post  Graduate  course.  The  scheme  was changed with effect from the session 1978-79, purportedly to give effect  to the  recommendation of  the  Indian  Medical Council that  the Resident  House  Staff  course  should  be delinked from  the Post  Graduate course.  Accordingly,  two separate Prospectuses  were envisaged,  one for the Resident House Staff  course and  the other  for  the  Post  Graduate course. A  competitive examination  was held for recruitment to the  Resident House  Staff, and  all candidates  who  had passed the  final M.B.B.S.  examination  and  had  completed their Compulsory  Rotating Internship  and had obtained full registration were  eligible to  appear at  that  competitive examination. There  was a  separate entrance examination for admission to the Post Graduate Course. A candidate appearing thereat should  have passed  the final M.B.B.S. examination, satisfactorily  completed   the  internship,  acquired  full registration and  in  addition  should  have  completed  the

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Resident House  Staff term  in a subject during one year. It appears that  in some  subjects, where there was a dearth of candidates and  the posts  in the  colleges were  not  being filled  in,   it  was   convenient  to  prescribe  only  one examination, the entrance examination for recruitment to the Resident House  Staff, and  in  those  subjects  the  second entrance examination  specifically  intended  for  the  post Graduate course  was not  prescribed. The  students in those subjects, on  completing the  one years Resident House Staff appointment,  were   automatically  admitted   to  the  Post Graduate course.      These  changes  evidently  caused  considerable  dismay among those  medical graduates  who had  already  taken  the M.B.B.S. degree  from a  Medical College  in Orissa  and had embarked on  a course  of conduct, consistent with the terms of the  original scheme,  which would suffice to secure them admission to  a Post Graduate course in the Medical colleges of Orissa.  The petitioners  say  that  under  the  original scheme they  were entitled  to take the entrance examination for  recruitment   to  the   Resident  House  Staff  at  any recognised institution  in the  country, even  though it lay outside the  State of  Orissa, and on completing that course they were  entitled without  more to  admission  to  a  Post Graduate Medical  Course in  a Medical  College  in  Orissa. There were  also students  who had taken the examination for recruitment to the Resident House Staff in a Medical College in Orissa  and had  successfully completed  that course, and they objected to the 814 requirement envisaged  by the  new scheme  that they  should appear for  a separate entrance examination for admission to a Post Graduate course in the Medical Colleges of the State. This discontent  among the  Medical  Graduate  body  led  to litigation in  the  High  Court  of  Orissa.  Eight  medical graduates, who had taken the M. B. B. S. degree at a Medical College in  Orissa, had  completed the  period of internship and thereafter  had also  completed a  period of one year on the Resident  House Staff  in Medical  Colleges  in  Orissa, filed a  writ petition,  Dr. Sidhartha Das & Others v. State of Orissa,  challenging the  validity of  the requirement in the Prospectus for the year 1978-79 requiring candidates for admission to  a Post  Graduate course in certain subjects to appear at an entrance examination for that purpose. On March 5, 1981,  the High  Court  allowed  the  writ  petition  and directed the  respondents to  permit  those  petitioners  to enter upon  the relevant  Post Graduate  course without  any further  entrance   examination.  In   compliance  with  the judgment  and   order  of  the  High  Court  all  tho  eight petitioners  were  admitted  to  the  Post  Graduate  course desired by them.      A number of other writ petitions were filed in the High Court by  medical graduates  but they  were opposed  on  the ground that  those petitioners had been admitted to Resident House Staff  appointments under  the Prospectus for the year 1978-79 and,  therefore, they were obliged to appear for the second selection  examination. It  was pointed out that they formed a  different class from the medical graduates who had succeeded in  the earlier writ petition and were, therefore, not entitled  to the benefit of the decision concluding that case. The  High Court  declined to  enter into the merits of the controversy because it was found that even if relief was granted there  were no  seats  available  for  accommodating those petitioners.      The hearing  in the  present cases  was marked  by much learned argument  on the part of counsel for the petitioners

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and the  Additional Solicitor General of India appearing for the  State  of  Orissa.  The  respondent  Universities,  the Behrampur University, the Sambalpur University and the Utkal University had  been served  with notice  but did  not enter appearance. During  the hearing  it became  evident  that  a proper solution of the controversy lay not in 815 an adjudication  on the  merits of the points raised thereby but in  formulating a  scheme designed  and defined  by  the equitable realities  of the  situation. In  appreciation  of this  perspective,   learned   counsel   suggested   several alternatives. After  carefully weighing  them, we propose to dispose of the cases before us in the following terms.      The petitioners  in these  cases can be classified into four groups.      Groups A  consists of  Writ Petitions  Nos 2756,  2829, 3782 and  4489 of  1981 etc.  The medical  graduates in  all these cases  consist of  petitioners who  either pursuant to the relief  granted by  the High Court or in compliance with interim orders  made by this Court were granted admission to a Post Graduate Medical course and have since completed that course, and after having appeared in the examination for the academic year 1981-82 they have been declared successful. It is consistent  with reason  and justice that they should not be disturbed  and should  be allowed  the benefit  of  their success at  the examination.  Accordingly,  we  direct  that while  the  admission  of  the  medical  graduates  made  in compliance with  the order  dated March  5, 1981 of the High Court is  affirmed the  interim orders made by this Court in other cases  directing  the  provisional  admission  of  the petitioners therein  should now  be translated  into a final order disposing of the writ petitions and giving final legal status to their admission.      Group B consists of Writ Petitions Nos. 2692, 3863, and 7031 of  1981 and  2237 of 1982. etc. This group consists of medical graduates  who were granted provisional admission to a Post  Graduate course by the Medical Colleges in Orissa in compliance with  the interim  orders of  this Court  made on different dates.  We are  informed that the petitioners have completed the  Post Graduate course and in the circumstances we are  not inclined  to disturb  their admission. We direct that the  provisional admission  of those petitioners should be regarded as an admission of final validity entitling them to its consequential benefits.      Group consists  of Writ  Petitions Nos.  4356, 4357-58, 5013, 5014-16,  5037-38, 5039-40, 5103-04, 5109-10, 5460-64, 5457-59, 5483-84  of 1982  etc. They are cases in which this Court directed 816 the  provisional  admission  of  the  petitioners,  but  the petitioners could  not  be  admitted  because  of  the  non- availability of seats. Indeed, an application has been filed by  the   respondents  for  recalling  the  order  directing provisional admission.      Group consist  of Writ Petitions Nos. 5505, 5629, 5630- 34 5635-36,  5692-93, 6492,  6803,  8029,  9348,  9349,  and Transfer Petition  No. 195 of 1982 etc. They are cases where no order  for provisional  admission of  the petitioners has been made by this Court.      In regard  to groups  and there was considerable debate between learned  counsel for  the  parties  on  whether  any relief  was   admissible  in   favour  of   the  petitioners comprising these  two groups  and, if at all, what should be the nature  and content  of such  relief.  It  is  admitted, however, by  the learned  Additional Solicitor  General that

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the scheme respecting admission to the Post Graduate Medical courses has  been modified  again and  the present position, enunciated in  the Prospectus  for the year 1982-83, is that medical graduates who have appeared and been selected at the examination for  recruitment to the Resident House Staff are entitled automatically, on successfully completing that term of appointment,  to admission to a Post Graduate courses and no entrance  examination specifically  for such admission is now contemplated. We direct, in the circumstances that those petitioners who  have successfully completed the term of one year as  Resident House  Staff in  the Medical  Colleges  of Orissa will  be entitled,  without having  to appear  at any further entrance  examination, to  admission to the relevant Post Graduate  course. There  are other petitioners in these groups who  have completed  the term as Resident House Staff but have  done so  in approved medical institutions in India other than the Medical Colleges in Orissa, and some may have done so  after successfully  appearing at  an entrance  test prescribed for  admitting them  to those appointments. It is contended that they are not entitled to join a Post Graduate course in  the Medical  Colleges  of  Orissa  without  first appearing successfully  at the  entrance test prescribed for appointment to  the Resident  House Staff  in those  Medical Colleges. We have considered the several alternatives placed before us by the parties, and it seems that having regard to the  considerable  constraints  imposed  by  the  guidelines framed by the Indian Medical Council, to which our attention has been  drawn, and  the limited  number of seats permitted accordingly, the  only feasible  solution must be that which we formulate  now. We direct that the petitioners falling in Group C 817 and Group  should be  permitted to  appear at  the  entrance examination prescribed for appointment to the Resident House Staff, and  that if they are successful in the said entrance examination they  will  be  entitled  to  admission  to  the relevant Post Graduate course for the next following session without being obliged to work on the Resident House Staff in the Medical  Colleges in  Orissa. They may, of course, offer themselves, without  being obliged  to do  so, for  Resident House  Staff   appointment  before  admission  to  the  Post Graduate course,  if there  are vacancies  occasioned by the exigencies of  medical administration.  At the same time, we make  it   clear  that   the  arrangement   entitling  these petitioners to  admission to  a Post Graduate course without having to  fill a  Resident  House  Staff  appointment  will obtain only  if they appear for the entrance examination for appointment as  Resident House  Staff in the same subject in which they  claim to  have already  served as Resident House Staff earlier. If, however and it will be open to them to do so-they appear  at the  entrance examination  in a different subject, and  are successful  therein, they shall be obliged to serve  for the  stipulated term in a Resident House Staff appointment  in   relation  to  that  subject  before  being entitled, on  the completion  of that  term, to admission in the corresponding Post Graduate course.      The writ  petitions are  disposed of accordingly. There is no order as to costs. M.L.A. 818