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CASE NO.: Appeal (civil)  5223 of 2003

PETITIONER: The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.                                                           

RESPONDENT: Vs. Gopal D. Tirthani & Ors.                                               

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 28/07/2003

BENCH: R.C. Lahoti & Ashok Bhan.

JUDGMENT:

J U D G M E N T

@ S.L.P. (C) NO.10820 OF 2003

With  CIVIL APPEAL NOS.            OF 2003  (@ SLP (C) Nos.10903-10904/2003, 10879/2003)

R.C. Lahoti, J.

Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

Imparting instruction and giving education was philanthropy -a  pious duty - in the past, and later a service.  In recent times it has  developed into a business and now it stands recognized as an industry.   A sizeable amount of litigation centres around medical education.  The  national wealth of available seats is scarce while the aspirants,  desirous of sharing such wealth, are numerous.  Every attempt at  laying down criteria for choosing the more deserving out of the several  aspirants is subjected to challenge before the Constitutional Courts of  the country.  This time it is the State of Madhya Pradesh which is at  the receiving end and the issue is quota of seats for in-service  candidates.  Carving out a quota for in-service candidates by the State  Government, assigning weightage for rural service, sub-classification  within classification for women candidates who have rendered rural  service, and holding of a separate eligibility test for determining the  merit of in-service candidates as distinguished from open category  candidates, are the issues canvassed before the High Court and  reiterated before this Court by the parties especially the State of  Madhya Pradesh.  For the purpose of this judgment it is not necessary  for us to enumerate the facts of each individual petition as there were  many before the High Court. It would suffice to note the bones of  contention in the backdrop of a few bare essential events in their  chronological order.

In the State of Madhya Pradesh, as it exists today, subsequent  to the reorganization effected on November 1, 2000, leading to carving  out of the State of Chhattisgarh, there are five Universities imparting  medical education at under-graduate and post-graduate levels of  studies.  There are 620 under-graduate seats while the seats at post- graduate level of studies are 537, consisting of degree and diploma  courses both.  A quota of 89 seats is earmarked for in-service  candidates, i.e., the doctors in the employment of the State  Government.

Madhya Pradesh, a State with a large land spread, still lives in

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villages.  The number of inhabited villages is 51,806 divided into 313  Blocks for the purpose of health services administration.  There are  8835 sub-health centers which are the smallest rural units of public  health service covering a population of 3000 in tribal areas and 5000  in general or non-tribal areas.  At each sub-health centre, an ANM  (auxiliary nurse midwife) and a multi purpose male health worker is  posted.  There are 1194 primary health centres which are rural health  units providing curative medical care and preventive health care  covering a population of around 50,000 of which 20,000 is tribal.  One  MBBS medical officer with para-medicos is posted at PHCs.  There are  229 community health centers situated at Block/Tehsil Headquarters.   Ideally, post graduate medical officers in Surgery, Obstetrics &   Gynaecology, Anaesthesia, Medicine and specialized in Paediatrics  under overall supervision of a block medical officer need to be posted  at each such community health centre (CHC). Then there are 169 first  referral units (FRU) which are community health centers equipped with  new-born care equipment, surgical equipment for emergency obstetric  care and care of high risk neonates.  Post graduate medical officers  specially having qualified in Obstetrics &  Gynaecology, Anaesthesia  and Paediatrics are required to be posted at such first referral units so  as to prevent mother and infant casualties.  The total sanctioned posts  in the cadre of medical officers called Assistant Surgeons, which  includes Physicians as well, is 4670 against which only 3865 posts are  presently occupied.  The occupants include those medical officers who  are recruited as a temporary measure on contract basis for a short  term. 805 posts are lying vacant.  As to the posts which require PG  Degree/Diploma, the position is as under:- Cadre Strength Posted Vacant Class-I Specialists 739 530 209 Class-I Specialists in CHCs 258 82 176 Medical Officers Class-II with  PG Degree 1606