Punjab-Haryana High Court
Manpreet Kaur Randhawa vs Baba Farid University Of Health ... on 6 December, 2001
Author: Swatanter Kumar
Bench: Swatanter Kumar
JUDGMENT Swatanter Kumar, J.
1. Sh. Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Sciences & Research. Sri Amritsar, hereinafter referred to as the Institute is a Sikh Minority Community Institute with the sanction of the Government of Punjab, vide notification dated 3.4.2001. The institute has been granted approval by the Medical Council of India and the Central Government vide its letter dated 23.5.2001 and is affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Science, Faridkot, hereinafter referred to as the University.
2. The Institute held an All India Medical Entrance Examination on 22.7.2001, for admission to M.B.B.S. Course. In furtherance to her application the petitioner was given Roll No. 1120. The result of the entrance test was declared and the petitioner got 137 marks out of 200 and got a merit rank of 160. On 6.8.2001 the counselling for admission to the M.B.B.S. Course was held. On that day the counselling was postponed and the candidates were required to appear for counselling on 29.8.2001. The petitioner appeared for the counselling on that date and the selection committee of the Institute did not grant admission to the petitioner and rejected her claim for admission to M.B.B.S. course on the ground that the petitioner does not fulfill the condition of rural area resident and the certificates as required under Clause 11.7 of the prospectus (page 27 of the prospectus) was not satisfied. Thus, the petitioner could not be granted any seat of the 8 reserved seats for rural area candidates.
3. Further claim of the petitioner is that she joined Saint Francis Convent School situated in village Station Abadi (Gram Panchayat), Sub Tehsil Fatehgarh Churian, Distt. Gurdaspur, from Nursery Class to 5th Class. Thereafter she joined Spring Dale Senior School, Falehgarh Road, Village & Post Office Nangli, Distt. Amritsar in the year 1993 and studied there till 1998 when she passed her 10th Class. The petitioner thereafter took her Senior Secondary Examination in Khalsa College, Amristar and secured 299 marks out of 450 in March, 2000. The petitioner has annexed rural area certificates along with the petition and contends that her education in these schools fully substantiate her claim for grant of admission under rural category seats and the respondents have acted arbitrarily in rejecting the claim of the petitioner thus, compelling her to file the present petition.
4. Upon notice, the respondents filed a detailed reply. According to the respondents, the petitioner has not satisfied the requirements as laid down in Rule 11.7(a) and 11.7.(b) of the prospectus. The rural area claim certificates submitted by the petitioner are not counter-signed by the District Education Officer and Distt. Inspector of Schools, as per the instructions. The certificates are not in consonance with the specimen Appendix B and B-11. It is also contended on behalf of the respondents that the schools where the petitioner had studied in fact are not rural area schools. They cannot be equated with the rural schools for which the benefit has been provided and these schools are just adjacent to the main cities and the lands for these schools are purchased by the managements of these schools only to save money from income tax and to buy the land cheap. If the candidates like the petitioner are granted admission, it would frustrate the very object of the scheme. The respondents have also placed on record documents to say that the petitioner and her family members have substantial income and are regular residents of Amritsar city. It is not denied that 8 seats are reserved for rural area category.
5. The above narrative of facts indicates hardly any dispute on averments and that the controversy requiring determination by the Court is a very narrow one. It is a settled rule of law that terms and conditions of brochure are binding and must be adhered to by all concerned. The obligations placed upon an applicant/candidate as per the brochure, have to be discharged in the form and manner prescribed therein. It is admitted that there are 8 seats reserved under the rural category. Under Clause 11, an applicant is required to attach with the application form the required certificates. Clause 11.7 relates to the reservation against rural area seats and the same reads as under:-
11.7. In case of a candidate wanting to avail benefit of reservation against the Rural Area Seat:-
(a) Certificate that both Parents are bona fide residents of Rural Area which is not a notified area and does not have either a Municipality or a Town Area Committee and the name of both parents is in the electoral roll of the Rural Area. (Appendix B).
(b) Certificate from the Head of the Institution, in proof of the fact that the candidate has studied for a total period of 10 years i.e. upto class 10 in a school situated in Rural Area which is not a notified area and does not have either a Municipality or a Town Area Committee and has appeared and passed class 10th from that school(s) (Appendix B-II).
A formate of Appendix B and B-II, which are specified under Class-II and which are required to be furnishee separately reads as under:- APPENDIX -B RURAL AREA CLAIM CERTIFICATE NO. 1.
This certificate should be signed by a Tehsildar/Sub-Divisional Magistration/Executive Magistrate with the court seal.
Certified that both the parents of _________ a candidate for admission to MBBS/BDS course as Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Science & Research, Sri Amritsar/Sri Gum Ram Das Institute of Dental Science & Research, Sh. Amritsar, whose names are: Father; Sh_______Mother Smt._______are bona fide residents of village_____Police Station ________Tehsil _______ Distt _____ which is not a notified area and does not have either Municipality or Town Area Committee. The latest electoral Roll No. of Sh._____is_______and of Smt.______is________.
It is further certified that their principal means of livelihood is from the earning in the village.
Signatures withTehsildar/Sub-Divisional stamp of Magistcate
1. Village Sarpanchl Name in Capital Letter
2. Lakhapal/Patwari
2. Designation, 3. Tehsil
4. Distt.
(Court Seal) APPENDIX-B-II RURAL AREA CLAIM CERTIFICATE NO.
B-II This certificate should be signed by the Distt. Education Officer/Head Master of the School under whose jurisdiction the School in which the candidate studied fromclass I to X. Certified that_______S/O, D/O Sh______r/o village______Police State _____Tehsil______Distt_______has studied in _______(name of the school) from _____to____ The school is situated in village________under Police State____Tehsil_____Distt_______.It is further certified that the village____under Police Station__________Tehsil__________District ______is not a notified area and does not have either Municipality or Town Area Committee.
Signatures with office stamp of the Distt. Education Officer/Head Master of the school.
Notes: (i) In case of privately managed schools, this certificate must be signed/countersigned by the Distt, Education Officer/Distt, Inspector of Schools.
(ii) If a candidate studied for class I to X in more than one rural school, similar certificate be given from all the schools in which he studied.
6. Bare regarding of the above clause of the brochure make it mandatory for a candidate claiming rural area seats to furnish two different certificate and the format in which the said certificates are required to be furnished. Admittedly, the two certificates were not annexed to the application submitted by the petitioner at the relevant time.
7. At the time of counseling the petitioner is required to furnish the original of the certificates, which also the petitioner failed. Even the copy of the certificate annexed to this petition as Annexure P/2 is not in conformity with the prescribed format. Once the mandatory certificates are neither annexed to the application nor are their originals produced at the time of counsel or at any other time fixed, the candidate cannot claim any benefit under that category and the authorities, concerned can rightly reject such an application. Reference in this regard can be made to the judgment of Full Bench of this Court in the case of Indu Gupta v. Director of Sports, Punjab and Anr., 1999(4) RSJ 667.
8. Under Clause 4.4 and 4.5 a definite obligation is placed upon the candidate to produce the original certificates and testimonials and is required to be present personally on the date of counselling. If during the course of scrutiny on that date or subsequent thereto, documents are found to be not in order, the candidature of the candidate and even his admission from the provisional list of selected candidates can be cancelled. Under Clause 9.3 an incomplete form shall not be considered and in that event even the examination-fees is not to be refunded to the applicant. In other words, the scheme of the brochure is clear that an applicant must produce testimonials and certificates as required under the brochure keeping in view the bona fide of the category which the candidates claim for admission in the MBBS course. Default in compliance thereto can seriously affect the chances of admission of the candidate.
9. Another factor which the Court must notice is that the petitioner had already taken admission to the MBBS course on 27.9.2001 under the NRI quota seats in the same college. She deposited a sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- and the balance of Rs. 5,00,000/- as first instalment of NRI fee \vas to be deposited within five days. Videtetter dated 6.11.2001 the petitioner had been called upon by the Institute to deposit the balance. A photo copy of the telephone directory of City Amritsar has been placed on record wherein name of the father of the petitioner has been shown living at 96, Mubarik Road, Amritsar, with telephone No. 506458. On the basis of this document, it is stated that the petitioner's parents are practising doctors at Amritsar and have a house at Amritsar. The petitioner herself has studied in the convent and other schools of high profile and upon incurring heavy expenditure for such education payable on account of fees etc. If such children are given admission under the rural category it would certainly amount to frustrating the very scheme of admission under this category. The purpose behind Clause I7.7(b) afore-noticed is that a student should have studied for a total period of 10 years in a school situated in a rural area is obviously referable to the schools where standard of education, infrastructure and facilities are not of the standard as provided in the urban schools. In other words the students of rural schools are placed at somewhat disadvantageous position in comparison to the students studying in the urban schools in regard to academic standard and teaching courses. The disparity between these schools is a fact for which even the Courts can take judicial notice of. Saint Francis Convent School and Spring Dale Sr. School are the schools where the facilities, infrastructure, standard and method of imparting education, quality of teaching and other facilities available to the students are of much greater advantage, than even the schools located in urban area, what to say of schools located in rural area. It is for their personal gain and benefit that management bodies of such schools buy land adjacent to the Municipal lands of big towns like Amritsar and Gurdaspur etc. The purpose of locating schools in such areas is obviously to reduce investment expenditure. The occasion is apparently exercised for deriving gain. If the argument of the petitioner that education in such schools should be treated as education received in rural areas, it will not only amount to a patent injustice, but would also frustrate the very social and laudable cause sought to be achieved by such schemes providing reservation under rural category.
10. In view of these circumstances we are unable to see any error in the action of the respondents in rejecting the candidature of the petitioner for admission to MBBS course under the rural category much less to term the said action as patently arbitrary. However, before parting with this case we would certainly like to make comments that the Institute or all other alike bodies must scrutinise the applications at the very initial stage. If the application is incomplete or the candidate is ineligible for admission in a particular category, it will be most appropriate to inform the candidate of rejection of his admission form, right at the very out-set. The Institute and such like bodies are charging considerable fees for issuance of the brochure and the application form and, thus, one feels no difficulty why the application should not be scrutinised at the very outset, particularly when the scheme of the brochure and various clauses thereof, refer to rejection of incomplete form or for lack of supporting certificates relating to claim of the petitioner under a particular category. Such approach would help to further the cause of the claim on the one hand, while on the other it would ensure fair treatment to the candidates. The candidates would be able to apply in other courses of various Institutions and would not have to wait till the last, to know whether he/they can be granted admission in one course of the other, or not.
11. In the professional courses, time is the essence and as per dictum of Hon'ble Apex Court, medical courses must commence by 30th of September of each academic year. This approach would facilitate the commencement of the above courses in time as per the direction of the highest court of land. Number of candidates are rendered ineligible at a subsequent stage because they do not satisfy the eligibility condition or have not attached the requisite certificate to the application or have submitted incomplete application forms. The time when such candidates are informed of rejection of their candidature is too late in the day and is despite the fact that such candidates have obtained high rank in the merit list of their respective competitive entrance examinations. In other words, one complete year of the candidates is wasted and they are exposed to precarious situations. It has come to the notice of the court that such situations are not curio. This injustice to the candidates can easily be avoided by a timely and vigilant scrutiny by the concerned authorities. While we leave the matter at that, there we express a pious hope that this healthy practice, which already stands introduced in the terms of the brochures issued by the different universities, should be duly complied with by the concerned institutes in its true spirit and substances.
12. Finding no merit in this writ petition, the same is hereby dismissed, leaving the parties to bear their own costs.
Sd/- Amar Bir Singh Gill, J.