- (1.) This appeal by special leave is by Punjab University against the judgment of it Full Beach of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the Letters Patent Appeal 352 of 1975 confirming the judgment of a learned single in W. P. 1017 of 1975.
(2.) Subash Chander, respondent 1 in this appeal joined the Daya Nand Medical College, Ludhiana, for the M. B. B. S. course in 1965 when Regulation 25 of the Punjab University was in force. That regulation required a minimum of 50 per cent of marks to pass in each subject. However Rule, 7.1 relating to the M. B. B. S. and certain other courses provided that - "a candidate who fails in one or more papers / subjects and / or aggregate may be given grace marks up to 1 per cent of the total aggregate marks (including marks for practical and internal assessment) to his best advantage in order to be declared to have passed the examination." But in May 1970 an amendment was made by the University in the form of an exception to Rule 2.1 which corresponds to R. 7.1 which was in force in 1965 in the following terms :- "2.1. A candidate who appears, in all subjects of the examination and who fails in one or more subjects (written, practical, sessional or viva voce and / or aggregate (if there is a separate requirement of passing in the aggregate) shall be given grace marks up to 1% of the total aggregate marks, (excluding marks for internal assessment) to make up for the deficiency if by such addition the candidate can pass the examination. While awarding grace marks fraction working to 1/2 or more will be rounded to a whole." Exception - In the case of M. B. B. S. and B. D. S. examinations, however, the grace marks shall be given up to one per cent of the total of each subject and not up to one per cent of aggregate of all the subjects. In other words, each subject will be, for this purpose, a separate unit, and a candidate who fails in a subject by not more than one per cent of the aggregate marks of that subject may be given the required number of marks in order to pass in that subject.
(3.) Subash Chander, respondent 1, appeared for the final M. B. B. S. examination in 1974 and secured the following marks and remarks :- Medicine ---- 202 out of 400 P. Surgery ---- 225 out of 400 P. Eye and ENT ---- 204 out of 400 P. Midwifery : i) Theory -- 95 out of 200 Reappear ii) Practical-106 out of 260 ;