Gujarat High Court
R F Gandhi A K Trust Through Trustee ... vs Admission Committee For Professional ... on 13 October, 2023
Author: Bhargav D. Karia
Bench: Bhargav D. Karia
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18277 of 2023
==========================================================
R F GANDHI A K TRUST THROUGH TRUSTEE YASHRAJ RAJENDRA
SINH RATHOD
Versus
ADMISSION COMMITTEE FOR PROFESSIONAL UNDERGRADUATE
MEDICAL COURSES
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR MITUL SHELAT WITH MS DISHA N NANAVATY(2957) for the
Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MS. ML SHAH, SENIOR ADVOCATE WITH MR KANVA ANTANI for the
Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA
Date : 13/10/2023
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Mitul Shelat with learned advocate Ms. Disha N. Nanavaty for the petitioners and learned Senior Advoacte Ms. Manisha L. Shah with learned advocate Mr. Kanva Antani for the respondent.
2. By this petition under Article 226 of Page 1 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:
"(A) this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction holding the action of the Respondent Committee in not treating the seats of the students who have cancelled their admission after completion of the admission process by the Respondent Committee as vacant seats and thereupon be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus declaring the said seats to be vacant and permitting the Petitioners to grant admission against the said vacant seat;
(B) pending admission, hearing and final disposal of the present petition, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to permit the Petitioner college to offer admission against the seat which has become vacant on the basis of the inter-se merit of the eligible candidates who have applied for admission to the Petitioner college;....."
3. Petitioner No.1 trust is running petitioner no.2 Dental College. For the Page 2 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Academic Year 2023-2024, admission process for the First Year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course was conducted by the respondent Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate Medical Courses as per the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission in Undergraduate Courses) Rules, 2017 (For short "the said Rules") as amended from time to time.
4. Respondent as per the mandate of the Rules and under directives of Dental Council of India (DCI) conducted the admission process as per the following schedule through four rounds of admissions during the dates as stated therein:
Round(s) Period
First 14/08/2023 - 18/08/2023
Page 3 of 30
Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023
undefined
Second 31/08/2023 - 04/09/2023
Third (Online Mop-up) 18/09/2023 - 21/09/2023 Fourth (Online Stray 25/09/2023 - 26/09/2023 Vacancy) Extended 4th Online 27/9/2023 - 29/9/2023 Stray Vacancy Round (01) Extended 4th Online 29/9/2023 - 30/9/2023 Stray Vacancy Round (02) Extended 4th Online 4/10/2023 - 5/10/2023 Stray Vacancy Round (03) Extended 4th Online 5/10/2023 - 6/10/2023 Stray Vacancy Round (04) Extended 4th Online 6/10/2023 - 7/10/2023 Stray Vacancy Round (05) Page 4 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined
5. It is the case of the petitioner that one student Bavarva Tulsi Ashvinbhai had withdrawn her admission from the petitioner college on 5.10.2023. The petitioner therefore, informed the respondent Admission Committee about the same and requested to allot a candidate against the 'vacant' seat or permit the petitioner college to fill up the vacant seat by letter dated 6.10.2023.
6. Admission for Undergraduate Dental Colleges were declared as having concluded by the respondent on 7.10.2023.
7. Dental Council of India vide its Directives dated 01.09.2023 has declared 15.10.2023 as the last date of joining to Undergraduate Dental Courses -'BDS'. Page 5 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined
8. The petitioners have approached this court seeking to fill up the seat which has fallen vacant on account of cancellation/withdrawal of the admission by one student on 05.10.2023 on the ground that as per Rule 16 of the said Rules, the said seat would fall vacant so as to enable petitioner no.2 college to fill up the same as per the said Rules and requested the respondent Admission Committee to declare the said seat as 'vacant' to enable the petitioner to fill up the same in accordance with the said Rules.
9. Learned advocate Mr. Mitul Shelat appearing for the petitioners submitted that on conjoint reading of Rules 12 and Page 6 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined 16 of the said Rules, if the respondent Admission Committee does not declare the seat which has fallen vacant on 5.10.2023 as a 'vacant' seat, then petitioner no.2 College cannot fill up the same as per Rule 16 before 15.10.2023 which is the last date declared by Dental Council of India for giving admission as per Rule 12 of the said Rules.
9.1) It was submitted that Rule 16 of the said Rules as amended with effect from 30.09.2022 would enable the petitioner College to fill up the seat which has fallen vacant on account of withdrawal of admission by the student after the completion of the admission process, if such seat is declared 'vacant' by the respondent Admission Committee. Page 7 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined 9.2) Learned advocate Mr. Shelat therefore, laid emphasis upon the interpretation of Rules 12 and 16 of the said Rules and prayed for harmonious purposive construction of the said Rules so as to see that the seat which has fallen vacant on account of withdrawal of admission by the student would not go waste resulting into waste of resources for next four years of the BDS course as the petitioners would not be able to admit any other student on the said seat which has fallen vacant.
9.3) It was submitted that this Court in case of Medguj Association of Guj Medical Colleges v. Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate Medical Page 8 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Courses (vide order dated 15.12.2022 passed in Special Civil Application No.25325/2022) after referring to Rule 16 of the said Rules, has held that in any eventuality, whether a candidate withdraws the admission or admission is cancelled prior to admission process is over as per Rule 15(3)(a) or Rule 15(3)(b) after the admission process is over, colleges or institutions are required to fill up the seats as per the criteria laid down by the respective Council, Central Government, NMC or MCI for the year under consideration from the merit list of NEET- UG of the students for the current year who are not admitted till then by the Admission Committee.
9.4) It was therefore, submitted that once the seat has fallen vacant after Page 9 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined completion of the admission process, Rule 16 would come into operation and therefore, petitioner no.2 college would be entitled to give admission to an eligible candidate as per the merit list of NEET-UG as per Rule 16 on declaration of such seat as a 'vacant' seat by the respondent Admission Committee. 9.5) Learned advocate Mr. Shelat has relied upon the decision in case of Harshit Agarwal and others v. Union of India reported in (2021) 2 Supreme Court Cases 710 to submit that the judicial review of administrative action is permissible on grounds of illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety.
10. On the other hand, learned Senior Advocate Ms. Manisha L. Shah with learned Page 10 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined advocate Mr. Kanva Antani for the respondent submitted that Rule 16 of the said Rules is very clear inasmuch as it provides for two stages of application of the amended Rule 16 (i) after completion of the admission process if any seat remains vacant from the merit list of the eligible candidate or if any such vacancy arises, then admission is required to be given from the students who applied to the Admission Committee and who were not being considered eligible for admission and (ii) after giving admission to such students, if still the vacancy remains then such vacancy is required to be notified to the respective colleges and such colleges then can give admission to the students as per the merit list of NEET-UG of the students for the year. It was therefore, submitted Page 11 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined that the respondent Admission Committee has scrupulously acted as per Rule 16 of the said Rules.
10.1) Attention of the Court was invited to the Schedule of the dates during which the admission process has been undertaken by the respondent - Admission Committee and it was submitted that in any eventuality if the seats fall vacant, shall first be filled up by the Committee from the candidates who though qualify as per NEET-UG criteria but were not included in the merit list due to non fulfillment of other eligibility criteria and thereafter if the seats still remain vacant, it will be declared by the Admission Committee to be 'vacant' and notified to the institutions where such Page 12 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined seats have remained vacant for such institution to fill up such vacant seats. 10.2) It was therefore, submitted that in facts of the case as the seat fell vacant after declaration of the vacant seats by the respondent Admission Committee on 04.10.2023 and the same were offered to the respective colleges/institutions, hence, Admission Committee has now no role to play for seat which has fallen vacant as per Rule 16 of the said Rules with regard to seat which has fallen vacant on 05.10.2023. 10.3) Learned Senior Advocate Ms. Manisha L. Shah has also referred to the amended Rule 7 of the said Rules by which fourth category of the admission process i.e 'stray vacancy round' is added in the Page 13 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined said Rules so as to comply with the provisions of first part of Rule 16 to give admission to the students on the seats which have fallen vacant or vacancy arises in any circumstances.
11. Having heard learned advocates for the respective parties, it would be germane to refer to and rely upon the relevant provisions of the said Rules as amended from time to time :
"7.Conduct of Admissions.-
(i) The Admission Committee constituted under section 4 shall supervise and control the entire process of admission of students to Government seats, Management seats and NRI seats to the Professional Medical Educational Courses. Admission to all Professional Medical Educational Courses seats shall be made by centralized single window state common counselling by the admission committee to make it a one composite process. The private institutes may send their Page 14 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined representative at the place of counselling.
(Amended as per notification dated 02.06.2023)
(ii) There shall be four Rounds of State counselling i.e. Round 01. Round 02. Round 03 (Mop-Up Round) and Round 04 (Stray Vacancy Round).
A ROUND-01
a) Main counselling Registration which shall include payment of Non-refundable Registration fee and Refundable Security Deposit.
b) Exercising of Choices
c) Process of Seat Allotment Round-01.
d) Publication of result of Round- 01 on the Website of the Admission Committee.
e) Reporting at the selected Help Center along with paid tuition fee receipt.
Upgradation: Candidates willing to upgrade from Round 01 to Round 02 shall require to give online consent on the Website of the Page 15 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Admission Committee and participate in Round-02 B. ROUND-02 Candidates registered for Round-01 and did not get any seat allotted are not required to register again.
a) Fresh Registration for Round-02 is required to be done for those candidates who have not registered in Round-01.
b) Candidates who have Resigned/ Not reported in Round-01 need not require to register again.
c) Fresh Choice filling of Round- 02.
d) Publication of result of Round- 02 on the Website of the Admission Committee.
e) Reporting at the selected Help Center along with paid tuition fee receipt.
f) The candidates who have Joined for a seat of MBBS and BDS course in Round-02 of State Quota counselling or AIQ counselling will not be eligible for the further rounds of counselling of State Quota as well as All India Quota Page 16 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined C. ROUND-03 (Mop-Up Round)
a) Fresh Registration is required with payment of registration fee for Mop Up Round in case of the following candidates:
Candidate registered in Round-02 and exited with forfeiture of fees without joining can register again with payment of fees. However, candidates who have already joined and taken admission up to Round-02 in MBBS and BDS course, shall not be eligible to participate in Mop Up Round and Stray Vacancy Round. Those who had been registered but were not allotted a seat in Round- 01 and Round-02 need not require to register again.
b) Fresh choice filling of Mop Up Round.
c) Publication of result of Mop Up Round on the Website of the Admission Committee.
d) Reporting at the selected Help Center along with paid tuition fee receipt.
D. ROUND-04 (Stray Vacancy Round)
a) There shall be no Fresh Registration of Candidates in Stray Vacancy Round.
Page 17 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined
b) Allotment of seats shall be Online/Offline as may be decided by the Admission Committee from time to time.
-If the allotment process is done through Online mode, Fresh Choice filling shall be allowed after giving online consent by the candidate to participate in Stray Vacancy Round.
-If the allotment process is done through offline mode, the candidate must give online consent to participate in the Stray Vacancy Round, in that case he is required to remain present on the scheduled date, time and venue to participate in the offline counseling for the Stray Vacancy Round.
c) Eligible candidates who are not holding any seat in previous rounds of All India Quota State Quota counselling may participate in Stray Vacancy Round Provided that all the candidates who are eligible and included in the Merit list may participate in all 04 rounds of State Quota counselling for MBBS, BDS, BAMS and BHMS courses except the candidates who have been declared not eligible as per item (f), of Page 18 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined para B and item (a), of para C of sub rule (ii), of rule 7,"
(iii) Admission Committee shall, by advertisement in the prominent newspapers widely circulated in the State and on its website and by such other means, as the Committee may consider necessary, publish the date of issue of admission forms, PIN and Information booklet, centers for submission of documents, last date for submission and such other information as may be necessary in this regards. The committee shall decide schedule of admission process, advertisement, preparation and display of merit list, details of fees to be paid, and all aspects pertinent to admission.
iv) All the Seats shall be filled on the basis of merit list prepared by the Admission Committee.
xxx
10. Preparation of Merit List for admission:- The merit list of the candidates who have applied for admission in the prescribed form, within the prescribed time limit and who are found eligible for admission under these rules shall Page 19 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined be prepared in the following manner, namely:-
(1) For MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS and BNAT courses:
(a) Merit list shall be prepared on the basis of All India Overall rank of the candidates who found eligible in NEET of current academic year:
(b) A separate list of minority students seeking admission in the respective minority institution in order of merit shall be prepared by the Admission Committee. The minority status of the candidate shall be checked/ verified by the Competent Authority of the college. The minority quota seats, if any, in institution run by minorities will be filled up by minority students only.
(2) For other courses:
(a)(i) In case of candidates who have passed qualifying examination from the Gujarat Board (marks as given in Board mark-sheet, i.e. total marks obtained in the four semesters will be taken as total marks) or Central Board or ISCE Board, marks obtained in theory of the Physics, Biology and Chemistry Subjects after converting it into 100, shall be the merit marks.Page 20 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined In case of candidates who have passed standard 12th qualifying examination from the Gujarat Board on or before March, 2013 marks obtained in theory of the Physics, Biology and Chemistry subjects after converting it into 100 ie percentage in theory marks of Physics, Biology and Chemistry subjects, shall be the merit marks.
(ii) The candidates who have passed qualifying examination from central Board including JNV or, as the case may be, the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi, marks obtained in theory of the Physics, Biology and Chemistry subjects after converting it to 100, shall be the merit marks:
Provided that seat distribution between different boards shall be as under-
The available government seats shall be distributed between candidates or the Gujarat Board and other Boards on pro-rata basis, taking into consideration the number of candidates passed from the Gujarat Board, Central Boards and the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations, Page 21 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined New Delhi in the relevant academic year:
Provided that where any seat remains vacant in the category of Central Board or, as the case may be, the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi, the same shall be filled in from the candidates of merit list of Gujarat Board.
(b) The Admission Committee shall prepare and publish different merit lists as follows, namely:-
(i) The first merit list shall include the candidates who have passed the qualifying examination from the Gujarat Board. Merit list of reserved category candidates shall be prepared separately; and
(ii) The second merit list shall consist of merit list of the candidates who have passed the qualifying examination from the Central Board; New Delhi. Merit list of reserved category candidates shall be prepared separately.
(iii) The Third merit list shall consist of merit list of the candidates who have passed the qualifying examination from the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Page 22 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Delhi. Merit list of reserved category candidates shall be prepared separately.
(c) The criteria for deciding merit order in case of candidates having equal merit marks shall be in the following sequence, namely:
(i) The candidate who has obtained higher grand total in the mark sheet.
(ii) The candidate who obtained higher marks in theory subject of Biology in qualifying examination
(iii) The candidate who obtained higher marks in theory subject of Chemistry in qualifying examination
(iv) The candidate who obtained higher marks in theory subject of Physics in qualifying examination
(v) The candidate who obtained higher marks in English subject in qualifying examination.
(vi) The candidate who obtained higher grand total in Secondary School Certificate Examination (Standard 10), and
(vii) Date of Birth (Candidate who is older in age shall be given priority).Page 23 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined xxx
12. No Admission on Vacant Seats after Specific Date.- Admission shall be granted in any professional medical educational colleges or institutions including university on or before the date specified by concerned council or university, as the case may be, for the concerned admission year. No admission shall be granted on the vacant seats after the said date.
xxx (Amended by notification dated 02.06.2023)
15. Cancellation of Admission and Refund of Fee:-
"(1) In case of cancellation of admission due to failure of candidate to get himself registered within the specified time limit, the fees collected from such candidate shall be refunded after completion of the admission process or after completion of such period as may be determined by the Admission Committee.
(2) In case of a candidate withdrawing his candidature for whatsoever reason in specified period as may be decided by the Page 24 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Admission Committee, he may request in writing to the Admission Committee for such withdrawal. In such cases, the tuition fee collected, if any, by the Admission Committee shall be refunded to such candidate."
xxx (Amended as per notification dated 30.09.2022)
16. After the completion of the admission process and exhaustion of merit list of the eligible candidates as per admission rules, if government seats and management seats in the MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS remain vacant or vacancy arise due to any circumstances, such vacant seats shall be filled up from candidates who have applied to the Admission Committee and qualify as per NEET-UG criteria but not included in the merit list of the committee because of not fulfilling the other criteria of Admission Rules. After completion of that process, if any seats are still remain vacant, such vacant seats shall be displayed on the official website and on the notice board of the office of the Admission Committee and the same shall be intimated to the colleges or institutions wherein the seats are vacant and the institution shall filled up the seats as per Page 25 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined the criteria laid down by the respective council/ Central Government NMC/MCI for respective year from merit list of NEET-UG of current year by non-admitted students only."
12. On conjoint reading of above Rules, it is clear that admission process is well defined under the said Rules and the Admission Committee is required to undertake the admission process for the medical courses as prescribed under the said Rules.
13. It is clear from Rule 16 that it comes into play after the admission process is over and after exhaustion of merit list of the eligible candidate as per the Admission Rules. On exhaustion of the merit list of the eligible candidates as per the merit list if any seat remain Page 26 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined vacant or if any vacancy arises in any circumstances then such vacant seats are required to be filled up from the candidates who have applied to the respondent Admission Committee but who were not found eligible in the merit list because of non fulfillment of other criterias.
14. The respondent Admission Committee has complied with the first part of Rule 16 of the said Rules by offering admission by conducting 'stray vacancy round' and after that process is over, 39 seats remained vacant. Therefore, on 4.10.2023 such seats were declared as vacant seats and were transferred to the respective institutions to be filled up as per the merit list of NEET-UG of current year of Page 27 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined the non admitted students only as per the criteria laid down by the respective Council/Central Government/NCM/ MCI for the respective year.
15. Therefore, so far as respondent Admission Committee is concerned, Rule 16 of the said Rules is complied with and there is no lacuna in the admission process undertaken by the respondent Admission Committee.
16. In view of above facts emerging from the record when a student has withdrawn the admission after completion of the admission process by the Admission Committee and after completion of the process of declaration of admitting the students as per Rule 16 of the said Rules and declaration of the 'vacant' seats by Page 28 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined the respondent Admission Committee to be filled up by the respective institution, then the Admission Committee has no role to play as per Rule 16 of the said Rules to declare such vacant seat either to be displayed on official website and on the notice Board of the office of the Admission Committee because such process has already been undertaken by the respondent Admission Committee on 4.10.2023.
17. In such circumstances, no prayers as prayed for by the petitioner can be granted qua the respondent Admission Committee for implementation of Rule 16 of the said Rules to declare the 'vacant' seat for the student who has withdrawn the admission on 5.10.2023 to be filled up by the petitioner as per the second part of Page 29 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/18277/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2023 undefined Rule 16 of the said Rules.
18. In view of the foregoing reasons, present petition being devoid of any merit is not entertained and is accordingly dismissed.
(BHARGAV D. KARIA, J) RAGHUNATH R NAIR Page 30 of 30 Downloaded on : Fri Oct 20 20:30:32 IST 2023