S.MURTAZA FAZAL ALI - (1.) SOON after our hardwon freedom there was a gradual rise in the urban population in view of the process of industrialisation and setting up of heavy projects and industries in order to make out country more and more self-sufficient. This led to a certain spurt and rise in the urban population as people from the rural areas started pouring into the urban cities which provided far better opportunities for education and employment than the rural areas. This sudden increase in urban population led to the spread of epidemics and diseases resulting in a rapid growth of educational institutions both in the public and private sectors.
(2.) IN these appeals, we are concerned only with the medical education; the Government had to face a serious problem with the coming up of medical colleges which started growing like mushrooms and were charging huge capitation fees to make substantial profits without providing proper medical education and caring precious little for achieving excellence of standards in medical education which, if denuded of such standards, would pose a serious health hazard to the people. Surely, We would not wish that people who could ill-afford to go in for well equipped expensive medical practitioners should be thrown at the mercy of quacks. Similar situation arose in technical, engineering and other kinds of institutions but we would concentrate on the feature and facets of medical education which alone forms the subject-matter of these appeals. We have seen from our experience that each year there is a huge rush for admission to seats in medical colleges for various courses, which being rather few and insufficient to control or absorb all sorts and kinds of candidates as the well-known Persian proverb "JAYE TANG AST WA MARDUMA BISYAR" (i. e. little space and people many) seems aptly to apply in such a situation. However, in order to meet the contingency resulting from a heavy rush for admissions the institutions set up certain standards or tests which had to be complied with before candidates could be admitted. Here also, as in other spheres, favouritism and nepotism have their own role to play as a result of which merits suffer. IN order to meet these contingencies and ward off such evils, the Government through its circulars and the Medical Council of INdia being alive to this delicate and difficult problem sought to solve the problem by making rules and regulations for admission of candidates to various courses in different disciplines (subjects) to achieve excellence in medical standards keeping in view statutory and constitutional reservations. Unfortunately, however, these rules were often flouted and observed more in breach than in compliance by those who were in charge of the medical education: the result was again a huge spurt of writ petitions in the High Court to weed out the inefficient and ineligible and absorb the efficient and eligible. With this short prelude, now to the facts of the case which disclose a sad story indeed - not because those in charge of the institutions commit errors but because the Courts start directing the authorities to grant provisional admissions to students even if they did not deserve the same in some cases. Experience has shown that in view of the huge accumulation of arrears in Courts, it takes a long time for the petitions to be disposed of, hence we have evolved the practice of forcing the authorities to grant provisional admissions which has resulted in a piquant and pungent situation because by the time the case comes up for hearing, the rejected candidates having completed their course and having appeared at the examination with every hope of success become eligible for admission to the higher course in case of success though the Court may ultimately find that their initial rejection was justified. Such a situation becomes a sort of a fait accompli for those in charge of the institutions as a result of which the candidates are admitted in due deference to the desire of the Court by increasing or creating vacancies even in the absence of suitable and proper facilities to train the extra candidates. This results in an anathema and a dilemma for which there is hardly any remedy. The present cases are a clear illustration of this problem. Our suggestion, therefore, is that whenever a writ petition is filed provisional admission should not be given as a matter of course on the petition being admitted unless the Court is fully satisfied that the petitioner has a castiron case which is bound to succeed or the error is so gross or apparent that no other conclusion is possible. In order, however, to test this fact even a short notice may be given to explore as to what the other side has to say and thereafter if the Court is satisfied that there is strong prima facie case and the matter needs thorough examination, provisional admission may be given. We hope and trust that the High Courts would in future discontinue the practice of lightly granting provisional admission to the candidates at the time of regular admissions, as observed above. It is needless to state that this Court on its part would also be extremely reluctant to grant provisional admission and would do so only in a very special case. The fundamental reason for this is that otherwise the institutions are likely to become overcrowded by candidates, eligible or ineligible, efficient or inefficient. Unless the Institutions can provide complete and full facilities for the training of each candidate who is admitted in the various disciplines, the medical education will be incomplete and the universities would be turning out Doctors not fully qualified which would adversely affect the health of the people in general. Out of these appeals, some of them have been dismissed as not pressed, others were heard on merits. By the time the case was taken up by this Court, in as many as 9 out of the 20 appeals the candidates had completed their courses and as only the result had to be declared, the counsel for the State with his usual fairness, realising the futility of forcing the candidates to complete the course all over again conceded that the results of such candidates may be declared and on passing the same they would be admitted to the courses concerned though the petitioners were lacking in merits and their original rejection was justified. We made this direction by a formal order, the reasons for which we would give hereafter.
(3.) THIS now brings us to the consideration of the appeals which survive. Before dealing with the individual cases of the appellants / respondents, it may be necessary for us to adjudicate on the validity of the circulars passed by the Government and the rules and regulations framed by the Medical Council of India, to put the matter beyond controversy so that a consistent test may be applied to all candidates desiring admission and unless rules are adhered to, admisisions would be denied in which case this Court will not interfere in the absence of a plea of prejudice or bias which would be naturally for the candidates to establish.;