JUDGEMENT
T.D.SUGLA, J. -
(1.)These appeals raise a common question regarding selection to the post of Registrar from amongst the students registered to post graduate and/or post graduate (super specialities) courses in Medical Colleges at Bombay. The question so far as these appeals are concerned involves interpretation of Rule V of the Rules for the appointment of Registrar in Hospitals attached to Government Medical College in Maharashtra State framed under Resolution No. MCG 2571/24500-Q dated 26th June, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as Rules). Bombay Municipal Corporation Medical Colleges have similar Rules for appointment to the post of Registrar in hospitals attached to their Medical Colleges, corresponding Rule being Rule 13-A.
(2.)It is pertinent to mention that Rules regarding admission to degree and post graduate degree including super specialities courses have come up for consideration before the Supreme Court as well as this Court in a number of cases where Rules providing for whole sale reservation on the basis of residence or institutional preference etc. were held bad being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. In the impugned judgments, the learned Single Judges have struck down preference rule to the post of Registrar in Hospitals attached to Medical Colleges inter alia taking the view that the ratio of those judgments was applicable in the matter of selection to the post of Registrar as well. Rule V of the Rules regarding appointment to the post of Registrar as such, it may be stated, had come up for consideration before the Nagpur Bench of this Court in the case of (Jitendra Kumar Shrikrishnadas Mehta v. State of Maharashtra) 1982 Mh.L.J. 764 and the rule was stuck down as being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Ordinarily, we should and would have followed that decision and dismissed the appeals herein straight away. It was, however, seen that to a large extent Nagpur Bench had relied for that purpose on this Courts earlier judgment in the case of (Satish Deopujari v. State of Maharashtra) being Writ Petition No. 1974 of 1981 decided on 11th December, 1982. The said judgment was overruled by the Full Bench of this Court in (Dean, G.S. Medical College v. Dr. Samina) 1983 Mh.L.J. 771. Subsequently, the question of admission to degree and post graduate degree including super specialities courses came to be considered by the Supreme Court and this Court in a number of cases. The settled legal position in that regard now is that Rule providing for whole sale reservation on the basis of residence or institutional preference etc. is bad being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. However, having regard to the various relevant factors taken into account in (Dr. Dinash Kumar & others v. Motilal Nehru Medical College) A.I.R. 1986 S.C. 1877 and (Dr. Pradeep Jain v. Union of India and others) A.I.R. 1984 S.C. 1420 not less than 15% and 25% seats for M.B.B.S./B.D.S. and post graduate degree courses respectively are to be filled on merit on the basis of All India Entrance Examination. as regards admissions to the post (super specialities) courses, admissions to all the seats have to be granted purely on merit on All India basis. The operation of the judgment in so far as admission to sets is to be made on merit on the basis of All India Entrance Examination is stayed till January 1988. No admissions are to be made on the basis of marks obtained at different M.B.B.S. examinations held by different Universities. Moreover preference rule envisaged in Rule V of the Rules corresponding to Rule 13-A applicable in the case of Bombay Municipal Corporation Medical Colleges has two important limbs having a bearing on the issue, namely, (i) preference is given to those who passed final M.B.B.S. examination from the Medical College to which the Hospital in which the post of Registrar is vacant is attached and (ii) preference is, given to those who are registered as students in post graduate or post graduate (super specialities), as the case may be, in that Medical College. There is another important aspect of the matter, namely, the post of Registrar in such Hospitals is not a post independent of medical education of the student in the Medical College to which such Hospitals are attached but is an integral part of the Medical College to which such Hospitals are attached but is an integral part of the medical education. It appears that these aspects were not placed before and considered by the earlier Benches. In the premises, it has become necessary to consider whether and to what extent the ratio of the Supreme Court and this Courts decisions on the question of admission/registration to degree and post graduate including super specialities courses is applicable in the case of appointment to the post of Registrar.
(3.)For proper appreciation of rival contentions, it may be useful to refer to the Recommendations on post graduate medical education adopted by Medical Council of India in February 1971 revised upto March, 1983, detailed affidavit of Dr. S.V. Nadkarni. Dean of Lokmanya Tilak Memorial Medical College (one of the B.M.C. Colleges), pamphlet Nos. 1881 to 1984 and Circulars No. 7184 of 1984, Nos. 133 and 455 of 1985 and No. 10 of 1986 of Bombay University. On going through the above, it can be safely deduced that hospitals form integral part of medical education. It is not possible to conceive of a Medical College without there being a hospital or hospitals attached to it. In fact, number of students to be admitted in degree or post graduate including super specialities courses very much depend upon the number of beds in a hospital or hospitals attached to the particular college and/or the number of beds in the respective departments as the case may be. The recommendation of the Medical Council of India as regards the method of training for post graduate students, is :
"Methods of Training : The emphasis should be on the service training and not in didactic lectures. The candidates should take part in Seminars, Group Discussions, Clinical meeting etc. The candidates should be required to write a thesis or dissertation which detailed commentary which should provide the candidate with necessary background of training in research methods and techniques alongwith the art of writing in research papers and learning the use of library. The in-service training requires the candidate to be a resident in the campus and should be given graded responsibility in the management and treatment of patients entrusted to his care. Adequate number of post of clinical residents or tutors should be created for this purpose."
The Circular No. PG/465 of 1985 issued by University of Bombay reads as;
"The Deans of the Constituent Medical Colleges, Directors of the Tata Memorial Hospital and Haffkins Institute, Bombay, and the Commanding Officer, I.N.H.S., Asvini, Bombay, are hereby informed that the following decisions taken at the meeting of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Chairman of the Boards of Studies falling within the preview of the Faculty of Medicine, and Deans/Directors of the constituent Medical Colleges/recognized Post-graduate Institutions enrolling students for the Post-graduate Medical courses, convened on 28th May, 1985, have been approved by the University :--- 1. That all the Deans of the Constituent Medical Colleges, be requested to furnish the details of the resident posts available in various Departments of the hospitals attached to their in various Departments of the hospitals attached to their colleges. The vacant resident posts in the Municipal Medical Colleges be offered to students of the Grant Medical College and vice-versa. 2. That for the benefit of such of the students who desire to do relationship but are not able to get the resident Posts in any of the constituent Medical Colleges a scheme to be called, Full-time post-graduate studentships programme." Equivalent to residentship be introduced. Such students be allowed to work as full-time post graduate students in the Department of their speciality concerned in a manner equivalent to the residentship and they be paid a stipend to be fixed by the authorities of the colleges concerned. 3. That the work of such students be signed by the respective teachers under whom they register and also countersigned by the Head of the Department concerned. 4. That the full-time post-graduate studentship programme be implemented with retrospective effect from the first term of the academic year 1985-86. 5. That in view of the late declaration of the M.B.B.S. result of November, 1984 batch of students, the nature of the present resident post which is of five months period be extended by one month so that the next batch of students will start their resident posts from 1st August, 1985. 6. That the cases of the resident Doctors who suffer from some grave disease while discharging their duties or doing research work for their dissertations be recommended to the University by the Deans of the colleges concerned for condonation of the period of their resident posts for which they suffered by the diseases for being placed before the relevant authorities of the University. 7. That in view of the introduction of full-time three year residency the attendance at lectures will be voluntary and no post-graduate student for want of attendance at lectures arranged by the University be detained for appearing at the respective examination. However, the attendance at the lectures, seminars programmes arranged by the individual colleges be made compulsory and no post-graduate student be permitted to appear at the examinations concerned unless he produces a certificate signed by the teacher under whom he has registered as also countersigned by the Head of the Department concerned to the effect that he has satisfactorily attended lectures and seminars arranged by the college in the speciality concerned. They are, therefore, requested to strictly implement the decisions, mentioned above. They are also requested that the decisions from No. 2 to No. 7 may please be brought to the notice of the Professors and the students concerned Bombay."
Practical training is, thus, an essential part of medical education and resident posts such as house post and the post of Registrar provide the best practical training and experience as these posts also involve graded responsibility, the post of Registrar giving the best scope for training. The post of Registrar in particular, is a twenty four hours job. That is why the endeavour of the Medical College always is to provide resident posts to all its students. However, the number of resident posts in the hospitals attached to Medical Colleges is generally less than the number of students. Therefore, it is not possible to provide with a full time resident posts to all the students. It is for this reason that there is a provision that such of the students who are not provided with full time resident posts in an attached or recognised hospital for the purpose have to be accommodated as full time post-graduate students and are paid stipend. Full time post-graduate students, it may be stated, have to work in the hospitals more or less like the students holding resident posts without in the responsibility which makes the training more meaningful. The ideal, of course, is to provide every student with resident posts i.e. at least, of post for some duration. If not the post Registrar. Thus, all post graduate students have either to hold full time resident posts or full time studentship and are paid stipend in order to be entitled to appear in the examination. In view of the above, the attendance at lectures is to some extent voluntary and no post-graduate student for want of attendance at lectures arranged by the University is detained from appearing at the respective examinations. All the same, however, attendance at the lectures/seminars programmes arranged by the individual colleges is made compulsory and no post graduate student is permitted to appear at the concerned examination unless he produces a certificate signed by the Teacher/Guide under whom he is registered to the effect that he has satisfactorily attended lectures/seminars arranged by the colleges in the speciality concerned. Under the circumstances, it can be taken that a post graduate student has to, besides holding a resident post including the post of Registrar, attend seminars, group discussions, clinical meeting etc. arranged by his college.