Writ Petition (C) No. 598 of 2013. Case: Aneesh D. Lawande and Ors. Vs The State of Goa and Ors.. Supreme Court (India)
| Case Number | Writ Petition (C) No. 598 of 2013 |
| Counsel | For Appearing Parties: R.F. Nariman, Huzefa Ahmadi, C.U. Singh and Indu Malhotra, Sr. Advs., Rohan Sharma, Jayant Mohan, Siddharth Bhatnagar, Pawan Kr. Bansal, T. Mahipal, Vikram Mehta, Anshuman Srivastava and Gaurang P., Advs. for Vikas Mehtra, Amit Kumar, Adv. and Ankit Rajghana, Advs. |
| Judges | Anil R. Dave and Dipak Misra, JJ. |
| Issue | Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 - Section 33; Goa (Rules for admission to Postgraduate degree and diploma courses of the Goa University at the Goa Medical College) Rules, 2004 - Rules 3, 3(1), 3(2), 3(3); Medical Council of India Rules; Constitution of India - Articles 32, 142 |
| Citation | 2013 (11) SCALE 161, 2014 (1) SCC 554, 2013 (4) SCT 422 (SC) |
| Judgement Date | August 30, 2013 |
| Court | Supreme Court (India) |
Judgment:
Dipak Misra, J.
1. The present litigation exposits a sad scenario. It is sad because a chaos has crept in the lives of some students and it is further sad as the State of Goa and its functionaries have allowed ingress of systemic anarchy throwing propriety to the winds possibly harbouring the attitude of utter indifference and nurturing an incurable propensity to pave the path of deviancy. The context is admission to Post Graduate courses in a single Government medical college at Goa. The insensitivity of the authorities administering medical college admissions was seriously decried by a three-Judge Bench in Convenor, MBBS/BDS Selection Board and Ors. v. Chandan Mishra and Ors. 1995 Supp (3) SCC 77 and further echoed in Medical Council of India v. Madhu Singh and Ors. (2002) 7 SCC 258. The Court in Chandan Mishra (supra) had approvingly reproduced a sentence from the decision of the High Court that proclaimed in sheer anguish: "Shakespeare in Othello has written "Chaos is come again".
2. The saga of anguish continues with constant consistency In Asha v. Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences and Ors. (2012) 7 SCC 389 a two-Judge Bench commenced the judgment thus:
Admission to the medical courses (MBBS and BDS) has consistently been a subject of judicial scrutiny and review for more than three decades. While this Court has enunciated the law and put to rest the controversy arising in relation to one facet of the admission and selection process to the medical courses, because of the ingenuity of the authorities involved in this process, even more complex and sophisticated sets of questions have come up for consideration of the Court with the passage of time. One can hardly find any infirmities, inaccuracies or impracticalities in the prescribed scheme and notifications in regard to the process of selection and grant of admission. It is the arbitrary and colourable use of power and manipulation in implementation of the schedule as well as the apparently perverse handling of the process by the persons concerned or the authorities involved, in collusion with the students or otherwise, that have rendered the entire admission process faulty and questionable before the courts. It is the admissions granted arbitrarily, discriminately or in a manner repugnant to the Regulations dealing with the subject that have invited judicial catechism. With the passage of time, the quantum of this litigation has increased manifold.
3. We have begun with such a prefatory note and referred to the aforesaid pronouncements as the facts, as have been uncurtained, would shock one's conscience. A deliberate labyrinth which not only assaults the majesty, sanctity and purity of law, but also simultaneously creates a complex situation requiring this Court to intervene in a different manner to redeem the situation as far as possible so that there is some sanguine cathartic effect.
4. Presently to the facts. The State of Goa has framed a set of Rules, namely, the Goa (Rules for admission to Postgraduate degree and diploma courses of the Goa University at the Goa Medical College) Rules, 2004 (for short "the Rules"). Rule 3 deals with eligibility, preference and order of merit. Rule 3(1) deals with eligibility criteria and Rule 3(2) with preference. Rule 3(3) of the Rules deals with order of merit. The relevant part of the said Rule is reproduced below:
(3) Order of Merit - (i) The order of merit shall be determined by the percentage of aggregate marks.
(ii) Aggregate Marks-The percentage of aggregate marks shall be arrived at by totaling the marks obtained in all the subjects of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd MBBS Examinations and reducing it to a percentage after the following deductions:
(a) 5 per cent of marks shall be deducted for every failure from the marks of the subject failed
(b) 5 per cent of marks shall also be deducted as above, if the student takes a drop in the subject.
(iii) If two or more candidates secure the same marks in the merit list as drawn above, the marks obtained in the subject shall decide the merit. In case the subject marks are also the same, the total marks secured by the candidates in the Final M.B.B.S. Examination, or total marks of IInd MBBS Examination or total marks of the 1st M.B.B.S. Examination, depending on whether the candidate is seeking registration in the clinical or para-clinical or pre-clinical subjects respectively, shall decide the merit.
(iv) A candidate, who has failed three times in a particular subject, shall not be eligible for registration for the degree or diplomas for which the marks of that subject are considered.
(v) For admission to the postgraduate degree and diploma courses, the candidates belonging to the General Category will be required to obtain minimum 50% and the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Casts, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes will be required to obtain minimum 40%, aggregate marks as determined above.
5. The said Rule governs the admission to the singular medical college and the lone dental college, both Government colleges affiliated to Goa University. On 9.8.2012 the Government of Goa in the Department of Public Health, through its Under Secretary (Health) communicated to the Dean, Goa Medical College, as follows:
I am directed to refer to your letter No. Acad/141/NEET/12/G.M.C./245 dated 27.6.2012 on the subject cited above and to convey approval of the Government for implementation of the Medical Council of India's Notification on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for the Under Graduate and Post Graduate students from the Academic Year 2013-14.
6. In pursuance of the decision taken the students appeared in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) held in November-December, 2012 for the medical courses and in January, 2013 for the dental courses. It is worthy to note that introduction of NEET was made by issue of a notification by the Medical Council of India in exercise of power conferred on it by Section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The said notification as well as the notification issued by the Dental Council of India came to be challenged in Christian Medical College Vellore and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. 2013 (9) SCALE 226.
7. During the pendency of the writ petitions as well as the transferred cases which were transferred from various High Courts, this Court on 13.12.2012 passed the following order:
Place these matters on 15th January, 2013.
In the meantime, the Medical...
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