Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Dr. Goutam Nemo vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 25 June, 2020
Author: Rajasekhar Mantha
Bench: Rajasekhar Mantha
1 (12) 25.06.2020
(p.jana) WP 5460 W) of 2020 + CAN 3163 of 2020 (Via Video Conference) Dr. Goutam Nemo
-versus-
The State of West Bengal & ors.
Mr. Jayanta Kumar Mitra, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Amiya Kumar Dutta, Mr. Swadesh Priya Ghosh, .... for the petitioner Mr. Kishore Dutta, A.G. Mr. Sirsanya Bandyopadhyay, ... for the State Mr. Supratick Roy, ... for the West Bengal University of Health Sciences.
Mr. Indrajit Roy, Mr. Sunit Kumar Roy, ... for the Medical Council of India.
The writ petitioner undertakes to affirm and stamp the petition/application as per Rules within 48 hours of resumption of normal functioning of the Court. Subject to such undertaking, the application is taken up for hearing through Video Conference.
Contentious issues have been raised in the instant writ application. 2 The right to a concession i.e. additional marks for serving in rural areas by MBBS Doctors was in principle proposed by Regulations of the Medical Council of India. Based on the said Regulation on the 30th January, 2020, a provisional list of successful candidates in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test was prepared giving incentive additional marks to the writ petitioner as a consequence whereof the writ petitioner obtained additional 150.9 marks. His rank stood at 837.
The petitioner was working after qualifying in the MBBS course in the Bankura Sammilani Medical College which was admittedly classified as a remote and/or difficult areas which are falling under the Paschimanchal Unnayan Parishad.
However, on the 26th February, 2020 a notification came to be issued by the State of West Bengal. After applying the notification the petitioner's additional marks based on the Medical Council of India Regulation came to be reduced to 503 marks and his rank degraded to 1596.
A three-fold argument is advanced before this Court. Firstly, that a State notification cannot by implication defeat a notification and/or Regulation issued with a definite object and purpose by the Medical Council of India. Secondly, that another candidate namely, Sk. Safikul Hasan from the same College that is Bankura Sammilani Medical College & Hospital, was duly given the additional marks pursuant to the Medical Council of India Regulation while the petitioner has been deprived.
3
There are other arguments advanced which are not adverted to an ad interim stage in the writ petition.
The Medical Council of India was heard and so was the Learned Advocate General for the State.
Learned counsel for the Medical Council of India submitted that there is an order dated May 19, 2020 passed in WP 5367 (W) 2020 by an Co-ordinate Bench inter alia ordered that the process of admission to 600 Post Graduate seats of Doctors should not, factor in, the impugned notification dated February 26, 2020 and Memorandum dated March 04, 2020.
It would therefore normally follow that the initial provisional list as well as the final list of successful candidates for Post Graduate courses which deprived the petitioner of the additional incentive marks may not have been given effect at all.
Mr. Jayanta Kumar Mitra, Learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioner, submits that he is not aware of the order passed by the Co-ordinate Bench dated May 19, 2020.
This Court notes with appreciation the fairness of the Learned Advocate General Mr. Kishore Dutta who said that the whole process of incentive was given to ensure that the Doctors would be willing to go to serve in rural areas as the petitioner has done for five full years.
He therefore says that the State itself has a duty cast upon it to ensure that the rural areas receive appropriate medical attention and appropriate 4 incentive is given in Post Graduate seats to such willing and sacrificing Doctors.
In those circumstances this Court deems it fit considering the urgency of the matter and the 600 Post Graduate candidates waiting to enter upon their courses to adjourn it until next Thursday or immediately next available date.
Upon this Court suggesting that one medical Post Graduate seat should be kept open to the credit of this writ application, Learned Advocate General has agreed to do so for a period of two weeks from date.
Hence one Post Graduate medical seat shall be kept unfilled and vacant and shall abide by the result of this writ application.
The matter shall appear as directed hereinabove and subject to the availability of the Benches at the discretion of the Hon'ble Chief Justice.
All parties are to act on a server copy of this order on the usual undertakings.
(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)