Allahabad High Court
Rekha Singh vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others on 28 May, 2024
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:97313 Court No. - 10 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 39995 of 2023 Petitioner :- Rekha Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Ravi Anand Agarwal,Shreya Gupta Counsel for Respondent :- Abhay Singh Tomar,Adarsh Bhushan,C.S.C. Hon'ble Manjive Shukla,J.
1. Heard Ms. Shreya Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel appearing for Respondent No.1 and Sri Adarsh Bhushan, learned counsel appearing for Respondents No.2 & 3.
2. Petitioner has filed this writ petition inter alia praying therein for the following reliefs:
"i) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the U.P. State Medical Faculty-respondent No.2 to forthwith issue Admit Card to the petitioner and to permit her to take written examination scheduled on 21.11.2023 and 22.11.2023.
ii) issue any other suitable writ, order or direction which the Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the instant case.
iii) to award costs of this petition to the petitioner."
3. Facts of the case, in brief, are that petitioner had passed out her Intermediate examination from Indian School Certificate Examination Board (I.S.C. Board) in the year 2008 and she had secured 27% marks in subject Physics, 43% marks in subject Chemistry and 40% marks in subject Biology. Thereafter, petitioner had obtained graduation degree in the year 2014.
4. The husband of the petitioner who was the sole bread winner in the family, unfortunately died during Covid-19 pandemic therefore, petitioner applied for her compassionate appointment and for the post which was vacant in the department, the minimum essential qualification was the Diploma certificate.
5. The petitioner applied for admission in Diploma course in Optometry at S.G. Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Bareilly i.e. Respondent No.4 which is an affiliated college of the U.P. State Medical Faculty, Lucknow. The U.P. State Medical Faculty vide its communication dated 11.10.2022 has directed the Managers/Principals of the Paramedical Training Institutes to take admission of only those candidates in Paramedical Diploma Training course who have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream (Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics). Respondent No.4 after considering the application filed by the petitioner granted her admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry and on 30.11.2022 Respondent No.3 i.e. Secretary, U.P. State Medical Faculty, Lucknow has duly enrolled the petitioner in the aforesaid Diploma course at the respondent college. Petitioner also deposited the requisite fee for admission, which has been duly accepted by the respondent college.
6. The petitioner after her admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry regularly attended classes at the respondent college for almost one year and her examinations of the first year of the course were scheduled to take place in the month of November, 2023. Respondent No.3 issued admit cards to all the students but petitioner was left out, so she enquired from Respondent No.3, then it transpired that Respondent No.3 had issued a communication dated 1.11.2023 to the respondent college intimating it that admit card of the petitioner has been withheld on the ground that she had failed in subject Physics.
7. The petitioner had passed out her Intermediate examination with Science stream having subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology therefore, she was fully eligible for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry and as such was given admission by Respondents No.3 and 4.
8. In the aforesaid circumstances, petitioner filed the present writ petition and this Court while entertaining the writ petition passed a detailed interim order on 17.11.2023 whereby respondents were directed to permit her to appear in the concerned examination scheduled to commence from 21.11.2023 and further interim protection granted by the Court was made subject to final outcome of the writ petition.
9. The respondents in compliance of the interim order dated 17.11.2023 passed in Writ -C No. 39995 of 2023 has allowed the petitioner to appear in the first year examination of Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry but neither her result has been declared nor she is being allowed to pursue the studies of second year of her course.
10. Ms. Shreya Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has vehemently argued that communication dated 11.10.2022 issued by the U.P. State Medical Faculty, Lucknow to the Managers/Principals of Paramedical Training Institutes of U.P. is crystal clear and under the said communication, requirement for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry is that a candidate must have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream including the subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics and there is no requirement that the candidate must have obtained passing marks in the individual subjects namely Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics. Ms. Shreya Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has further argued that petitioner is eligible for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry as per the aforesaid communication dated 11.10.2022 therefore, respondents while not issuing admit card to the petitioner for appearing in the examinations, have acted in most arbitrary and illegal manner.
11. Per contra, Sri Adarsh Bhushan, learned counsel appearing for Respondents No.2 and 3 has vehemently argued that as per the qualifications required under communication dated 11.10.2022 for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry, a candidate must have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream and simultaneously he must have secured passing marks in subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics whereas, though petitioner has been declared pass in the Intermediate examination conducted by the I.S.C. Board but she has not secured passing marks in subject Physics therefore, she is not eligible for admission in the Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry. Sri Adarsh Bhushan, learned counsel appearing for Respondents No.2 and 3 has further submitted that petitioner does not possess the minimum qualification required for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry therefore, she was not issued the admit card for appearing in the examination of the course scheduled in the month of November, 2023.
12. I have considered the arguments advanced by the learned counsels appearing for the parties and I find that Respondent No.3 vide his communication dated 11.10.2022 has provided that candidate seeking admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry must have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream with subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics. For ready reference, Clause 2 of communication dated 11.10.2022 is extracted as under:-
"2. 1.?????????/???????? ????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????, ?? ?????? ?? ????-?????????????, (????????? ???????)
2. ?????????? ???????? ??????????? ?? ?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? (????? ???????, ????? ???????, ??? ???????/????) ?? ?????????"
13. This Court finds that Respondent No.2 in his counter affidavit has annexed a communication dated 25.9.2008 wherein educational qualifications and other conditions for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry have been given and Clause 1 of the said communication is relevant for the issue involved in this writ petition. For ready reference, Clause 1 of communication dated 25.9.2008 is extracted as under:-
"1. ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ???? (????? ???????, ????? ???????, ??? ???????, ???? ????) ???? ???????? ???? ??????"
14. This Court finds that neither in the communication dated 11.10.2022 nor in the communication dated 25.9.2008 it is provided that a candidate seeking admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry must have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream and simultaneously must have also secured minimum passing marks in subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics rather the provisions made in communication dated 25.9.2008 and communication dated 11.10.2022 make it clear that the requirement for admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry is that a candidate must have passed out Intermediate examination with Science stream and he/she must have studied subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics in his/her Intermediate course.
15. Petitioner had been declared pass in Intermediate examination conducted by the I.S.C. Board and in her Intermediate examination she has studied subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Mathematics. Though petitioner could not secure passing marks in subject Physics but since in I.S.C. Board if a student gets passing marks in four subjects out of total subjects, he is declared pass accordingly, petitioner has been declared pass in the Intermediate examination.
16. Even otherwise, petitioner was given enrollment in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry in S.G. Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Bareilly by Respondent No.3 on 30.11.2022 and she deposited requisite fee for admission and continued to attend classes for complete one year without there being any objection from the side of the respondents therefore, after one year from the date of enrollment/admission it was not proper to raise objections regarding the lack of minimum educational qualifications with the petitioner for her admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry. This Court also finds that the petitioner under the interim order passed by this Court has also appeared in the first year examination of her Diploma course and her result is awaited therefore, at this stage it would not be equitable for this Court to disturb the petitioner's admission in Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry.
17. In view of the aforesaid reasons, this writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to declare the result of the petitioner's examination of the first year of Paramedical Diploma course in Optometry and further allow her to attend the classes of her second year course and also to appear in her final examination.
Order Date :- 28.5.2024 Salim