Bhagwati, C. J. - (1.) This appeal by special leave arises from a writ petition filed by the appellant in the High Court of Bombay challenging the validity of Rule B(2) of the Rules framed by the State Government on 21st December 1984 for Admission to the M.B.B.S. Course. The validity of this Rule has been assailed on the ground that it offends Article 14 of the Constitution. The challenge has been negatived by the High Court but the appellant contends in this appeal that the decision of the High Court is erroneous and Rule B(2) must be struck down as unconstitutional and void.
(2.) The qualification required for admission to the M.B.B.S. course in the State of Maharashtra is the passing of 12th standard examination held by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The teaching in the first ten standards is carried on in schools while in the 11th and 12th standards the teaching is done at some places in schools and at others in colleges. The schools and colleges where education is imparted in the 11th and 12th standards are not in any way connected with the Universities within whose jurisdiction they are situate nor have the Universities anything to do with the 12th standard examination. There is one Board for the whole of Maharashtra called "Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education" and it comprises of three Divisional Boards - one for Vidarbha region, another for Marathwada region and the third for the rest of Maharashtra - and though for the purpose of convenience each of these three Divisional Boards conducts the 12th standard examination for the area within its jurisdiction, the examination which is held is one and the same throughout the State of Maharashtra, based on the same syllabus, with the same set of questions and the same standard of evaluation. The results of the 12th standard examination are published divisionwise and the merit list is also prepared on that basis but the question papers being the same and the standard of evaluation also being uniform throughout the three regions, it is easy to assess the comparative merits of the candidates in the three regions by reference to the marks obtained by them at the 12th standard examination. The admissions to the medical colleges within the State of Maharashtra could, therefore, arguably be determined on the basis of merit and the best candidates could be selected from all over the State on the basis of their performance in the 12th standard examination. But for the academic year 1985, the State Government departed from this principle of selection based on merit across the board and made regionwise classification for admission to medical colleges by framing new Rules for Admission to the M.B.B.S. Course on 21st December, 1984. Rule B(2) of these Rules provided inter alia as under: "Students who have passed H.S.C. (10 + 2) 12th standard examination of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education from Schools/Colleges situated within the jurisdiction of one university are not eligible for admission to medical college or colleges situated in the jurisdiction of another university. The seats at the Government Medical Colleges in Maharashtra State except those earmarked for nominees of the Government of India and nominees of Miraj Medical Centre and those mentioned in Rule D(4) below are reserved for the students of the respective university area." The admissions to medical colleges were thus made subject to regionwise classification inasmuch as a student from a school or college situated within the jurisdiction of a particular university could seek admission only in the medical college or colleges situate within the jurisdiction of that University and he could not be eligible for admission to medical College or colleges situate in the jurisdiction of another university. This regionwise classification made by the State Government for the purpose of admissions to medical colleges was assailed by the appellant by filing a writ petition in the High Court of Bombay on the ground that it was violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The writ petition was heard by a Division Bench of the High Court and by a judgment dated 1st August, 1985, the High Court dismissed the writ petition. The principal ground on which the High Court rejected the writ petition was that the implementation of the Order passed by this Court in Dr. Pradeep Jain v. Union of India, (1984) 3 SCC 654 that 30% of the open seats should be available for admission to students on all-India basis and that only 70% of the seats could be reserved on the basis of residence or institutional preference, had been deferred by this Court by its Order dated 8th July 1985 to the academic year 1986 and it was not to be given effect to in the academic year 1985. The High Court took the view that since the implementation of this Order had been deferred by this Court, the State Government "had no, other alternative but to fill in the seats as if there were no directions from the Supreme Court to fill in the seats on all-India basis" and Rule B(2) of the Rules for Admission to the M.B.B.S. Course framed by the State Government for the academic year 1985 was therefore valid. This view taken by the High Court is impugned in the present appeal preferred by the appellant with special leave obtained from this Court.
(3.) The question as to what principles for selection of students for admission to the medical colleges would be permissible under Article 14 of the Constitution came up for consideration before this Court in the leading case of Dr. Pradeep Jain (supra). The judgment in this case reviewed all the previous decisions given by this Court starting from D. P. Joshi v. State of Madhya Bharat, (1955) 1 SCR 1215 and ending with Jagdish Saran v. Union of India (1980) 2 SCR 831, and after analysing these decisions the Court laid down the principles which should, govern selection of students for admission to the medical colleges consistently with the requirement of Article 14. The Court pointed out that the primary consideration in selection of candidates for admission to the medical colleges must be merit and the object of any rules which may be made for regulating admissions to the medical colleges must be to secure the best and most meritorious students. This was in fact the consideration which weighed with the Court in P. Rajendran v. State of Madras, (1968) 2 SCR 786 in striking down a Rule made by the State of Madras allocating seats in medical colleges on districtwise basis and so also in A, Periakaruppan v. State of Tamil Nadu, (1971) 2 SCR 430 the same consideration prevailed with the court in striking down a unitwise scheme of selection of candidates for appointment to medical colleges in the State of Tamil Nadu, which provided for constituting the medical colleges in the city of Madras as one unit and each of the other medical colleges in the mofussil as a separate unit and selection being made unitwise. The Court in both these cases clearly and categorically proceeded on the basis of the principle that the object of any valid scheme of admissions must be to "select the best candidates for being admitted to medical colleges" and that if any departure is to be made "from the principle of selection on the basis of merit", it must be justified on the touchstone of Art. 14. This principle was affirmed by the Court in Dr. Pradeep Jain's case (supra).;