JUDGMENT
D. Biswas, J.
1. Writ petition No. 4303 of 2002 has been filed by Dr. Anup Kumar Pow for quashment of the order of allotment of a seat in Post Graduate Course in Obstetrics and Gynaecology allotted to the private respondent Dr. Jitumoni Das in the Assam Medical College for the Sessions 1997-98 and for consequential direction to allot the said seat to the petitioner.
2. Writ Petition (C) No. 7717 has been filed by Dr. Jitumoni Das for appropriate direction for striking/deleting the name of Dr. Anup Kumar Pow (private Respondent No. 4) from the merit list of the Entrance Examination for Post Graduate Medical Courses, .1998 (held in July/2000).
3. I have heard Mr. B.D. Goswami, learned Counsel for the petitioner Dr. Anup Kumar Pow in Writ Petition (C) No. 4303 of 2002 and Shri B.J. Talukdar, Government Advocate, Assam arid Mr. J.L. Sarkar, learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 4. Both the petitions arising out of the same controversy are being disposed of by this common judgment.
4. Dr. Pow has filed the Writ Petition (C) No. 4303 of 2002 for reallotment of the said seat in Obstretics and Gynecology in the Assam Medical College in his favour which has been allotted to Dr. Das on the ground that in the P.G. Entrance Examination for the Session 1997-98 held in the month of September, 2000 he had secured 534th position in the merit list and being above Dr. Das was entitled to admission against surrendered seats from 25% of All India Quota. His grievance is that he was not invited for interview in the first and second counselling held on 24-11-2000 and 16-6-2001. Besides, he is a member of the Schedule Tribe (Plain) Community and, as such, he is entitled to preferential treatment in the matter of admission.
5. The case of Dr. Jitumoni Das, writ petitioner in W.P. (C) No. 7717/2002 is that in the aforesaid test for admission in 1997-98 Session, she secured 606th position and was selected against vacant seat in Obstretics and Gynecology for the aforesaid Session as Dr. Pow was not eligible for admission for lack of eligibility as per Rule 5(iii) of the Rules framed by the Government of Assam vide notification dated 6th June, 1997 and also because Dr. Pow did not submit his application for counseling in proper form with all requisite information.
6. Mr. Sarkar, learned Counsel for the writ petitioner Dr. Das submitted that Rule 5(iii)(c) is a bar for admitting Dr. Pow against a seat for the Session 1997-98. According to Mr. Sarkar, Dr. Pow did not have the permanent registration with the State Medical Council for the Session 1997-98 and, as such, he was not having the eligibility criteria prescribed in Rule 5 of the aforesaid Session. Mr. Goswami, learned Counsel for Dr. Pow submitted that Dr. Pow also belongs to reserved community and his merit position being higher than Dr. Das should have been given due weightage by the Selection Board. Besides, Mr. Goswami argued that deficiency in the application submitted by Dr. Pow was taken care of by subsequent-application.
7. There is no dispute that a candidate for admission to Post Graduate Courses must have passed MBBS and permanent registration with the State Medical Council. A candidate having the aforesaid eligibility criteria was only entitled to appear in he Entrance Examination for admission. From para 3 of the writ petition in W.P. (C) No. 4303/2002, it appears that Dr. Pow passed his final MBBS Examination in the year 1998 and he had completed one year compulsory rotating internship in March, 1999. It is, therefore, clear from his own statement that Dr. Pow having completed his Internship in March, 1999 could not have been registered with the State Medical Council prior to March, 1999. Therefore, for the Session 1997-98, he was not having the qualification as prescribed in Rule 5(c) of the Admission Rules notified by the Government of Assam. Insofar the Degree in MBBS is concerned, Dr. Pow acquired it in the year 1998. Therefore, under no circumstances, he was eligible for admission against a seat for the Session 1997-98. The averments made in the writ petition clearly indicate that he was not having the requisite qualification for admission against a seat for the Session beginning 1997.
8. Apart from above, the affidavit-in-opposition submitted by the official respondent in W.P. (C) No. 4303 of 2002 that Dr. Pow was called for consideration under S.T. (Plain) category for the first counselling held on 23-11-2000 and he could not be accommodated for non-availability of seats and also in view of his lower position in the merit list. The second counseling was held on 16-6-2001 and applications were called for by notice dated 11-4-2001. The last date for submission of application was 23-4-2001. By another notice dated 25-5-2001 published in the local dailies, the date for counselling was re-scheduled as on 16-6-2001 for the Session 1997-98. The counselling was again re-scheduled to 25-6-2001 by another notification published in local dailies. The application submitted by Dr. Pow was also incomplete in various aspects. The belated application (Annexure-D of the affidavit-in-opposition) submitted by the petitioner on 15-6-2002 to fill up the gap was placed before the Selection Board which for above reasons did not consider the same.
9. It would, therefore, appear that the application of the writ petitioner Dr. Pow was not complete. Besides, he was not eligible for consideration for admission against any seat for the Session 1997-98 since he was not qualified as per provisions of Rule 5 of the Admission Rules. The petitioner passed his MBBS Examination in the year 1998 and completed his compulsory internship in March, 1999. He must have obtained the registration under the Medical Council after March, 1999. Therefore, under no circumstances he could be held eligible for admission against a seat for the Session 1997-98. Subsequent acquisition of qualification will not make him eligible for admission against any seat for a Session beginning prior to the date of his acquisition of requisite qualifications.
10. On the other hand, Dr. Jitumoni Das passed her final MBBS Examination in the year 1994 and she also completed her Internship on 31-1-1995, She also got permanent registration with the State Medical Council in 1996 and, therefore, was eligible for a seat in the Entrance Examination for the Session 1996-97 onwards. The position of Dr. Das in the merit list though below that of Dr. Pow, her case was considered for admission as she had the requisite qualification at the relevant time. There appears to be no illegality in considering her case for admission.
11. In R. Chitralekha v. State of Mysore AIR 1964 SC 1823, the Supreme Court held that the State Government has the power to prescribe a machinery and also to prescribe the criteria for admission of qualified students to Medical and Engineering colleges run by the Government. Orders passed by the Government prescribing interview for selection of candidates possessing minimum academic qualifications for admission to colleges and definite criteria in the matter of giving marks at the interview and appointing of competent person to make the selection on that basis does not in any way contravene Rule 14 of the Constitution. Therefore, rules referred to above prescribed by the Governor will govern the admission procedure in the medical colleges in the State of Assam.
12. In the result, the Writ Petition (C) No. 4303 of 2002 is hereby dismissed. The interim orders, if any, passed earlier stands vacated. The Writ Petition (C) No. 7717 of 2002 is hereby allowed and Dr. Pow, writ petitioner in Writ Petition (C) No. 4303 of 2002, declared ineligible for admission against any seat for the Session 1997-98.
No costs.