PETITIONER:
U.P. JUNIOR DOCTORS’ ACTION COMMITTEEAND ORS. ETC.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
DR. B. SHEETAL NANDWANI AND ORS. ETC.
DATE OF JUDGMENT22/11/1991
BENCH:
MISRA, RANGNATH (CJ)
BENCH:
MISRA, RANGNATH (CJ)
RAY, G.N. (J)
ANAND, A.S. (J)
CITATION:
1991 SCR Supl. (2) 384 1992 SCC Supl. (1) 680
JT 1992 (1) 571 1991 SCALE (2)1103
ACT:
Admission to Professional (ourse,—post-graduate
courses in Medical Colleges–Reasonable period of
study–prescription by the Medical Council–Dates of admis-
sion and commencement of courses–Directions of Court–To be
followed strictly–Interlocutory orders for provisional
admission–Not to be granted unless for special reason to be
indicated in clear terms.
Practice & Procedure:
Main relief prayed for—As a rule not to be granted at
the interlocutory stage.
HEADNOTE:
These matters relate to admission in post-graduate
courses in the Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh.
On a Writ Petition, which later turned out to be fake,
the High Court had ordered that admission could be effected
on the basis of the MBBS Examination. This has been disputed
in appeal before this Court.
In another Writ Petition, pending hearing, the High
Court directed that provisional admission be given to two
candidates, one in MS (Surgery) and another in MD
(Medicine). The Principal of the Medical college and others
preferred an appeal against the High Court’s order.
It was contended that granting admission, though provi-
sional, at an interlocutory stage in a pending proceeding
creates a lot of adverse consequences and indiscipline in
the system of imparting education.
Dismissing the matters, this Court,
385
HELD: 1.1 It transpires that the proceedings before the
High Court were totally fraudulent and no one by the name
given in the petition as petitioner could really be identi-
fied. This Court had clearly indicated that no admission
should be permitted on the basis of the MBBS results. Noth-
ing survives now, as the High Court’s order has already been
reversed. [386 F,G]
2.1 It is already settled that admission for 25 per cent
of the seats in post-graduate courses should be regulated on
the basis of all-India selection and in regard to the re-
mainder of 75 per cent the States were left to decide the
procedure for admission. [387-E]
2.2 Unless there is a sincere and thorough educational
discipline to be gone through as a precondition to the grant
of the requisite certificate the lives of citizens would be
at peril. The Indian Medical Council has prescribed a rea-
sonable period of study, on expert advice, and upon taking
into consideration the experience over the years as to how
much study is necessary for the requisite qualification to
be gathered. This Court has also indicated the dates of
admission and commencement of the courses of study. These
are prescriptions for a purpose and are not intended to be
empty formalities to be violated. [387 G, H; 388-A]
Dr. Pradeep Jain & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., [1984]
3 S.C.C. 654, relied on.
3. It is a well-known rule of practice and procedure
that at an interlocutory stage, a relief which is asked for
and is available at the disposal of the matter, is not
(generally) granted. To have it granted at the threshold
creates a lot of difficulties. In a case where the petition-
er ultimately loses in a case of this type a very embarrass-
ing situation crops up. If he has by then read for two to
three years, there is a claim of equity raised on the plea
that one cannot reverse the course of time. In a case of
this type, equities should not be claimed or granted. Unless
there is any special reason to be indicated in clear terms
in an interlocutory order, as a rule no provisional admis-
sion should be granted and more so into technical courses.
[388 C, D]
4.1 The order of the High Court in the instant case
should be reversed but this is not being done so, on account
of the fact that nine similarly placed medical graduates
have already been given admission pursuant to such interloc-
utory orders by the respondents
386
without even raising a challenge. The order was made as
early as in February, 1991 and for nine months no steps have
been taken by the appellants to comply with the order and
they are in fact facing a contempt proceeding. [388-F]
4.2 Notice had been issued to the Principals of the seven
medi cal colleges who have appeared and given written
undertakings to the Court by way of affidavit that there was
some misunderstanding in regard to the requirement of a
selection test for post graduate admission. Though there was
hardly any scope for being misled, the benefit of doubt is
being given to the Principals. The contempt proceedings are
discharged, but their undertakings are kept on record. [388
G, H; 389-A]
JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: I.A. No 1 IN C.A. No 4444
of 1990 etc. etc..
From the Judgment and Order dated 25.5.90 of the Alla-
habad High Court in CWP No. 5267 of 90.
Yogeshwar Prasad, Gopal Subramanium, S.K. Mehta, Dhruv
Mehta, Arvind Verma, Aman Vachher, Pradeep Misra and R.B.
Misra for the appearing parties.
The following order of the Court was delivered:
The dispute in these cases relates to admission in
post-graduate courses of the medical wing. There are seven
medical colleges in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Sometime
back in a fake writ petition the High Court of Allahabad
made an order that admission could be effected on the basis
of the MBBS results. That can counter to the decision of
this Court and on being looked into it transpired that the
proceedings before the High Court were totally fraudulent
and no one by the name given in the petition as petitioner
could really be identified. This Court at that stage had
clearly indicated that the prescription by this Court has
been that there should be a selection test for post-graduate
admission as admission has become very competitive and to
have compliance of Article 14 of the Constitution a broad-
based arrangement should be made. On that account this Court
had clearly indicated that no admission should be permitted
on the basis of the MBBS results. In view of the fact that
the Allahabad High Court’s order has already been reversed,
nothing more need be done.
387
SLP (C) ….. of 1990
This petition is directed against the order of the
learned Single Judge of the Allahabad High Court dated
25.5.1990. U.P. Junior Doctors’ Action Committee in their
special leave petition which has not yet been numbered
challenge the order referred to above where the petitioner
could not be identified and challenge was to the decision of
the High Court dated 25.5.1990 which permitted admission on
the basis of MBBS results. Since we have already clarified
the position and reiterated the requirement of a selection
test the order of the High Court must be taken to have
already been vacated. 11 is not necessary to entertain this
special leave petition.
CA in SLP 15354/91
Special leave granted.
In this appeal by special leave Principal of the Agra
Medical college along with some others is the appellant. The
High Court by the impugned order required provisional admis-
sion in M.S. (Surgery) and in M.D. (Medicine) to be given to
respondents 1 and 2 respectively in the Medical College of
Agra while the writ petition was yet to be heard. The con-
ten-tion raised before us is that grading admission at an
interlocutory stage in a pending proceeding even by styling
it as provisonal create lot of adderse consequences and
leads to indicipline in the system of imparting education,
Admission into post-graduate degrees in the medical wing
through out the country has become very competitive and it
has become clear thatstrict regulation is necessary. . This
Court by its judgement in Dr. Pradeep, Jain & Ors. v.
Union of India & Ors [1984] 3 sec 654 indicated that admis-
sion for 25 percent of the seats in post-graduate courses
should be regulated on the basis of all-India selection and
in regard to the remainder 75 per cent of the States were
left to decide the procedure for admission.
Appropriate knowledge and expertise are a prerequisite
for a person to be allowed to register himself as a medical
practitioner. Very often, health problems require expert
treatment. If anyone is authorised in society to practise
medicine or undertake medical-care without the appropriate
qualification, society exposes itself to health hazards. The
prescriptions by the Indian Medical Council and the attempts
made by Government for regulating the medical study are for
establishing basically uniform knowledge to be imparted to
the students before they can be entrusted with the nation’s
medicare. Unless there is a sincere and thorough educational
discipline to be gone through as a precondition to the grant
of the requisite certificate the lives of citizens would be
at peril.
388
The Indian Medical Council has prescribed a reasonable
period of study on expert advice and upon taking into con-
sideration the experience over the years as to how much
study is necessary for the requisite qualification to be
gathered. This Court has also indicated the dates of admis-
sion and commencement of the courses of study. These are
prescriptions for a purpose and are not intended to be empty
formalities to be violated.
One of the prescriptions of the Medical Council is also
the ratio between the teachers and the students. That again
is a factor which cannot be brushed aside.
It is a well-known rule of practice and procedure that
at interlocu-. tory stage a relief which is asked for and is
available at the disposal of the matter is not granted. The
writ petitioners wanted admission into postgraduate course
as the main relief in the writ petition. To have it granted
at the threshold creates a lot of difficulties. In a case
where the petitioner ultimately loses in a case of this type
a very embarrassing situation crops up. If he has by then
read for two to three years, there is a claim of equity
raised on the plea that one cannot reverse the course of
time. In a case of this type equities should not be claimed
or grained. ‘Faking an overall picture of the matter we are
of the view that unless there is any special reason to be
indicated in clear terms in an interlocutory order as a rule
no provisional admission should be granted and more so into
technical courses.
On the basis of what we have said the order of the High
Court should be reversed but we are not doing so on account
of the fact that nine similarly placed medical graduates
have already been given admission pursuant to such interloc-
utory orders by the respondents without even raising a
challenge. The order was made as early as in February, 1991
and for all these nine months no steps have been taken by
the appellants to comply with the order and they are in fact
facing a contempt proceeding. While on principle we indicate
that such provisional admission should not be granted. We
dismiss this special leave petition and sustain the order
not on merits but for the reason indicated. The interlocuto-
ry application in the civil appeal need not be further dealt
with in view of what we have said above.
We had issued notice to the Principals of the seven
medical colleges. They have appeared and have given a writ-
ten undertaking to the Court by way of affidavit that there
was some misunderstanding in regard to the requirement of a
selection test for post-graduate admission. There were two-
year and three-year courses running simultaneously for some
period and some confusion was there as to whether the two-
year course
389
students were covered by the direction of this Court. Though
we are of the view that there was hardly any scope for being
misled, we are prepared to give the benefit of doubt to the
Principals. The contempt proceedings are withdrawn but the
undertaking are kept on record.
G.N. Appeals
dismissed.
390