S.B.MAJMUDAR - (1.)In this petition under Article 225 of the Constitution read with Article 14 thereof the petitioner who has passed higher secondary examination conducted by the Gujarat Secondary Education Board has challenged the action of the respondents in not considering the case of the Petitioner for being admitted to 1st M. B. B. S. course conducted at B. J. Medical College Ahmedabad from June 1982. Respondent No. 3 who is the dean of the medical college has taken the view that the petitioner is not Eligible to be considered for admission to the said course in view of rule I of the rules for admission to first M. B. B. S. course and 1st B. D. S. course at &government medical colleges as the petitioner cannot be said to have passed the qualifying examination for admission to the concerned course as defined by the said rule.
(2.)In order to highlight the grievance of the petitioner in this petition a few relevant facts must be noted at the outset. The petitioner has passed the higher secondary examination taken by the Gujarat Higher Secondary Education Board in April 1981 from science stream. His result was declared in July 1981 and he secured 511 out of 800 marks which amounted to 71% For the purpose of admission to 1st M.B.B.S. course the marks in theory of Physics Chemistry and biology and marks of mathematics are taken into consideration. In these papers the petitioner secured 330 marks out of 450 which amounted to 73%. On the basis of the aforesaid result the petitioner made application for joining medical course July 1981. But because there were more candidates above him and as admissions were closed at higher percentage of marks obtained by the concerned applications for the said course in July 1981 the petitioner could not get admission in the medical course in July 1981 the petitioner again applied for being admitted to the medical course starting from July 1982 that is-next year. But in view of the fact that rule 1 of rules rules for admission to first M.B.B.S. course or first B.D.S. course at Government colleges as framed by respondent No. 1 restricted the entries to medical course beginning examination i e. Gujarat Higher Secondary Examination in either April -May 1982 or earliest in October 1981 the petitioner who had passed the said examination prior to October 1981 was not found eligible to apply for admission such to the medical course begining in July 1982. As per the admission rule before a candidate could be held eligible to apply for admission to such a course he had to pass the qualifying examination for admission as conducted by the Gujarat Secondary Education Board in March/April of the current year (i. e. the year in which the concerned course started) or in October/November of the preceding year. According to the aforesaid rule therefore the student who has passed the qualifying examination i. e. higher secondary certificate examination in science stream in March/April 1982 or at the earliest October/November 1981 could apply for admission to the first M. B. B. S. course that was to start from July 1982. As the petitioner has passed the said examination in April 1981 in the light of the rule and the definition of qualifying examination therein the petitioners case was kept out of consideration. It is in these circumstances that the petitioner is driven to file the present petition. His main grievance is that rule 1 of the rules for admission as framed by way of executive instructions by respondent No. I and which has defined qualifying examination by restricting it to only two examinations one in the current year and only one examination in the previous year is highly discriminatory and violative of the guarantee of Article 14 of the Constitution as by the said rule equals are treated inequally. That the qualifying examination for admission to 1 M. B. B. S course is higher standard certificate examination science stream. All students who have passed the said examination in the past would form one class. By an artificial demarcation the students who have passed the said examination prior to March/April of the concerned year where the course is to start and October/November of the preceding year are all excluded from consideration while selecting meritorious students for being admitted to the first M. B. B. S. course. It is therefore cotended by the petitioner that the action of the respondents in rejecting entry of candidates for being considered for admission to first M. B. B. S. course by limiting the scope of qualifying examination to only last two examinations immediately preceding the starting of the concerned course in the given year is patently arbitrary and irrational. Under these circumstances the petitioner has prayed for a suitable writ order or direction of this court for declaring rule I of the rules for admission to first M.B.B.S. course or first B. D. S. course at Government medical colleges laying down test for qualifying examinations to be ultra vire Article 14 of the Constitution. The petitioner has also prayed for consequential relief on the basis of the said declaration.
(3.)By an amendment to the petition respondents Nos. 4 to 13 were added as parties as per courts order dated 18-8-1982 passed on Civil Application No. 2892 of 1982. These respondents are the students who are already admitted to the first M. B. B. S. course starting from July 1982 and to which course the petitioner claims admission.