RAS MASUD & ORS Vs. STATE OF J&K & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a batch often. writ Petitions filed by 14 petitioners praying for a writ of certiorari in order to quash the admission of the respondents selectees to the Government Medical College, Srinagar and for a direction that the petitioner's case may be considered and they may be admitted to the said college Since all the petitions involve common questions of law and fact and identical arguments have been advanced by the counsel for the petitioners, we propose to decide the petitions by one common judgment which will govern all the writ petitions The petitions arise in the following circumstances- Pursuant to a notice of respondent No. 2, Principal, Medical College Srinagar, the petitioners and the selectee respondents in ?ach of the petitions submitted their applications for admission to the MBBS course first year of the Government Medical College for the Session 1972-73 The case of the petitioners is that they fulfilled all the requisite qualifications and submitted their applications in the prescribed form and the prescribed time. After their applications were processed by the office, the petitioners as also the respondents selectees in the petition were called for interview and they appeared before a selection committee appointed by the State comprising Dr. S. Naseer Ahmad Shah, Dr. Anand, Dr J. D. Sharma, Dr. Shah and Mrs. Sajida Z Ahmad The petitioners allege that the final decision made by the Selection Committee was based on personal considerations and was not objective in character. The petitioners were asked casual questions for a few minutes and within such a short time they were awarded marks at the interview which did not reflect their real merit. It has further been argued before us that by plumping up mark; under the various items of the interview the selection committee thought to convert merit into demerit and vice versa. The petitioners therefore, allege that the selections made by the committee were violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution of India and therefore must be struck down.

(2.) The State has resisted the petitions mainly on the ground that the Committee consisted of very eminent doctors and the Director of Education, that all the members of the Committee duly interviewed the candidates and that after considering their over-all merit and suitability made the selections in accordance with the Govt. order constituting the committee. A perform has been submitted by the first respondent which is attached to the reply affidavits in all the petitions showing the actual marks allotted to the petitioners and the respondents selecrees in the petition It was further alleged by the State that the Committee had reserved 50 marks for interview which were itamised as follows :-

(3.) Equal marks were allotted to each of these items, i. e. 12.5 each. Apart from this, 100 marks ware allotted for the academic merit and every candidate was awarded the percentage which he had secured in the theory of the last qualifying examination. After adding the total marks awarded to each candidate at the interview to the percentage secured by him in his last qualifying examination, the grand total was arrived at and selection was made purely in order of merit so far as the grand total is concerned A chart annexed to this judgment shows the names of the petitioners the percentage of marks secured by them at the last qualifying examination in theory (excluding the Practicals), the marks awarded to the candidates at the interview item wise and the grand total secured by each candidate*