Karnataka High Court
Dr. Wasim Mulla vs The State Of Karnataka on 6 March, 2026
Author: B.M. Shyam Prasad
Bench: B M Shyam Prasad, Shivashankar Amarannavar
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WP No. 109452 of 2025
HC-KAR
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, AT DHARWAD
DATED THIS THE 6TH DAY OF MARCH 2026
PRESENT
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.M. SHYAM PRASAD
AND
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHIVASHANKAR AMARANNAVAR
WRIT PETITION NO. 109452 OF 2025 (EDN-AD)
BETWEEN:
1. DR. WASIM MULLA S/O. SADRUSAHEB,
AGE: 39 YEARS, OCC: WORKING AS GENERAL
DUTY MEDICAL OFFICER IN ESI DISPENSARY
SHAHAPUR, BELGAUM,
R/O: PLOT NO.16, R.S NO.
1042/1A SHIVATHEERT COLONY, BEHIND
SHUVATHEERT APARTMENT, KANABARGI ROAD,
MAHANTESH NAGAR, BELAGAVI,
DIST: BELAGAVI - 590 016.
2. DR. SHIVAKUMAR
S/O. PARASAPPA MEGARAPPA HADI,
AGE: 30 YEARS, OCC: WORKING AS GENERAL
DUTY MEDICAL OFFICER IN ESI DISPENSARY
GADAG, R/O. DR. SHIVAKUMAR P HADI
Digitally signed C/O. PARASAPPA HADI,
by RAKESH S AT POST - MUSHIGERI, KUMBAR ONI, NEAR
HARIHAR PANCHAYAT, TALUK- GAJENDRAGADA,
Location: High DIST: GADAG - 582 211.
Court of
Karnataka, 3. DR. MADHUMATI
Dharwad Bench S/O. HEMANNA BETAGERI,
OCC: WORKING AS GENERAL DUTY MEDICAL
OFFICER IN ESI DISPENSARY KOPPAL
AGE: 31 YEARS,
R/O. HOUSE NO.TH, 3RD FLOOR,
YASHSWI RUDRA GIRIJA APARTMENT NEAR
OLD AMRUTH THEATRE ROAD,
VIDYANAGAR, HUBALI,
DIST: DHARWAD - 580 021.
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WP No. 109452 of 2025
HC-KAR
4. DR JAGADISH RAMAPPA GOLABAVI
S/O. RAMAPPA GOLABAVI,
AGE: 33 YEARS,
OCC: WORKING AS GENERAL DUTY MEDICAL
OFFICER IN ESI DISPENSARY VIJAYAPURA
R/O. C/O. B.M GIRISH, CHENNABASAVA KRUPA,
2ND CROSS, MANJUNATH COLONY,
SHIVAGIRI, DHARWAD,
DIST: DHARWAD -580 007.
... PETITIONERS
(BY SRI. SUNIL S. DESAI, ADVOCATE)
AND:
1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE, VIKASA SOUDHA,
BENGALURU-560 001.
2. THE COMMISSIONER,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE, AROGYA SOUDHA,
MAGADI ROAD, BENGALURU 560 027.
3. THE DIRECTORATE OF
MEDICAL EDUCATION,
REPRESENTED BY ITS DIRECTOR,
BMC & RI (OLD BUILDING)
1ST FLOOR, FORT, K.R. ROAD,
BENGALURU 560 002.
4. KARNATAKA EXAMINATION AUTHORITY
REPRESENTED BY ITS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
OFF/AT 18TH CROSS, SAMPIGE ROAD,
MALLESHWARAM,
BENGALURU 560 012.
5. NATIONAL MEDICAL
COMMISSION REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
POCKET 14, SECTOR I DWARAKA PHASE, NEW
DELHI 110 077.
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WP No. 109452 of 2025
HC-KAR
6. UNION OF INDIA,
REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY,
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE,
NEW DELHI.
...RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. RUBEEN JOCOB, AAG &
SRI. SHARAD V. MAGADUM, AGA FOR R1 TO R3;
SRI. ANOOP DESHPANDE, ADV. FOR R5;
SMT. SURABI KULKARNI, ADV. FOR R4;
SRI M.B. KANAVI, ADV. FOR R6)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES
226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
PRAYING TO, ISSUE A WRIT, ORDER OR DIRECTION IN
THE NATURE OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING
RESPONDENTS NO.1 TO 4 TO CONSIDER THE
REPRESENTATION/REQUEST AND TO RETAIN ALL
UNFILLED IN-SERVICE QUOTA SEATS UNDER PG
COURSE AND NOT TO DE-CATEGORIZE THE SEATS
ALLOTTED UNDER THE IN-SERVICE QUOTA UNTIL THE
COMPLETION OF ALL ROUNDS OF COUNSELING,.
RESPONDENTS NO.1 TO 4 MAY FURTHER BE
DIRECTED TO AWAIT ANY ORDER OF RESPONDENT
NO.5 REGARDING ALTERATION OF THE CUT-OFF
MARKS, IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY.
TO ISSUE A WRIT, ORDER OR DIRECTION IN THE
NATURE OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING RESPONDENT
NO.5 TO TAKE AN IMMEDIATE DECISION ON
LOWERING THE CUT-OFF MARKS FOR ADMISSION TO
PG COURSES FOR THE PRESENT ACADEMIC YEAR, IN
THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY. TO GRANT
SUCH OTHER RELIEFS AS THIS HON'BLE COURT MAY
DEEM FIT IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE.
THIS WRIT PETITION, COMING ON FOR
PRELIMINARY HEARING B GROUP THIS DAY, ORDER
WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
CORAM: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.M. SHYAM PRASAD
AND
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHIVASHANKAR AMARANNAVAR
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WP No. 109452 of 2025
HC-KAR
ORAL ORDER
(PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.M. SHYAM PRASAD) The petitioners are doctors in service with the State Government as Medical Officers and they are qualified to participate in the Common Entrance Test conducted by the Karnataka Examination Authority [the KEA] under the Karnataka Conduct of Entrance Test for admission to Post-Graduate Medical and Dental Degree and Diploma Courses Rules, 2006 [for short, 'the Rules']. The petitioners seek directions to the respondents to ensure:
[a] that the Regular Post Graduation [the Regular PG] seats earmarked under the Rules for In-service candidates are maintained until the completion of the counselling, and [b] that these seats, which are not allotted in the initial round/s of counselling, are filled up from amongst the In--5-
NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR service candidates once the prescribed eligibility marks [the percentile] in the entrance test is revisited by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Union of India [for short 'MoHFW'].
The petitioners assert a cause that is repeated in multiple petitions with this Court each year.
2. The KEA has begun the second-round counselling for In-service candidates on 18.12.2025 [which is during the petition] and such counselling is completed on 23.12.2025. The Department of Medical Education [the DME] has immediately thereafter decategorized those seats that were not allotted to the In-service candidates for non-In-service candidates. The second-round counselling for the non-In-service candidates [including for these decategorized seats] is completed on 24.12.2025. The MoHFW has reduced the percentile on 13.01.2026 but, as of date, the counselling is complete for the Regular PG seats except for the Stray Round.
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3. Sri Sunil S. Desai, the learned counsel for the petitioners submits that it is settled that there cannot be an arbitrary reduction in the seats reserved for In-service candidates, but the decategorization even before the completion of all the rounds of counselling with an intervening reduction in the percentile brings about the same result i.e., reducing the seats earmarked for In-service candidates and therefore, there must be just directions. The learned counsel also proposes to rely upon certain interim directions issued for the Academic Year 2022-23 directing the DME/ KEA not to decategorize seats reserved for In-service candidates till a decision is taken on lowering the percentile.
4. Sri Sunil S. Desai emphasizes that the DME's/KEA decision in the last two academic years to decategorize unfilled In-service candidates immediately after the first/second-round counselling is despite the directions of a Coordinate Bench of this -7- NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR Court on 27.02.2025 in Writ Petition No.1609 of 2025 and connected matters, and the learned counsel invites this Court's attention to the directions which read as under.
"xxx However, we make it clear that it is for the MCC, NMC and KEA to provide for reasonable cut off marks for selection to Medical PG Seats and to provide a reasonable time for decategorization of seats so that any decision to lower the eligibility criteria will also be taken into account before such decategorization is effected. These matters shall be appropriately considered by the authorities concerned in future selections."
5. Smt. Surabhi Kulkarni, the learned counsel for the KEA, relying upon the details furnished as called for by this Court on 27.02.2026, submits that [i] 550 seats were reserved for In-service candidates comprising 433 Regular PG seats and 118 Diplomate of National Board (DNB); [ii] that only 75 candidates were eligible for allotment of seats under the In-service category; [iii] that out of these 75 candidates, 62 are allotted Regular PG seats and 8 -8- NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR are allotted DNB seats in the first/ second round counselling; [iv] that 371 Regular PG seats remained vacant after the second round counselling; and [v] that, as a consequence of the decategorization of these seats for non-In-service Candidates, the allotment is complete as of today.
6. In clarification, Smt. Surabhi Kulkarni submits that if the decategorization of 371 seats of Regular PG seats was on 23.12.2025 immediately after the completion of the second round counselling for the In-service candidates [except for some seats decategorized in view of the orders in another writ petition] have been allotted to non In-service candidates in the round that is concluded on 24.12.2025 and mop-up round concluded on 25.01.2026.
7. Sri Rueben Jacob, a learned Additional Advocate General, adopting these statistics submits that the petitioners who were not eligible as on the -9- NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR date of decategorization cannot assert a right to be allotted seats which remained vacant only because of a possible later decision to reduce the percentile, and the learned Additional Government Advocate submits that if the petitioners' ineligibility is one aspect of the matter, the other aspect is that the seats available for allotment cannot be blocked for a contingency that may be with the MoHFW possibly reducing the percentile.
8. Sri. M.B. Kanavi and Sri. Anoop Deshpande, the learned Central Senior Standing Counsel and the learned counsel for National Medical Council ['the NMC'], submit inter alia that the MoHFW takes a decision on the percentile and revisits the decision on the percentile considering a host of circumstance based on the data made available by the Exam Conducting Authorities across the Country. The learned counsels underscore that neither the MoHFW nor the NMC has any role to play in decategorization of seats as the decision is by the
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR State Governments and the State Examination Conducting Authority.
9. In the circumstance of the case and the rival submissions, this Court formulates the following two questions for consideration.
(i) Whether this Court must infer a right in the petitioners to insist upon deferment of the allocation of In-service quota seats that remain unallotted after certain rounds of counselling because the MoHFW may reduce the percentile [the eligibility] for admissions to Regular PG/ DNB; and
(ii) Whether this Court, if it could opine that some action must be initiated for lowering the percentile by the authorities, direct that such action be taken timely to avoid a spate of litigations during every academic year.
10. This Court's consistent view has been that those who acquire eligibility after the completion of
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR the second-round counselling or mop-up round counselling [because of a later decision to reduce the percentile] will have no right to contest the decision to decategorize the seats earmarked for In-service Candidates that remain unallotted after such rounds of counselling. In this context, this Court must refer to the following expositions by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in two different proceedings. In W.P. No.1609/2025 and connected matters1 "10. xxx This apparently has been done in the second round for counselling. The petitioners, who acquired eligibility much later, would have no right to contend that the decategorization which happened earlier ought not to have been resorted to. We are supported in our view by the judgment of this Court dated 30.03.2022 in W.P.No.6735/2022, which has been up before the Apex Court without success."
1 These writ petitions are decided on 25.02.2025
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR In W.P. No.31842/2024 and connected matter2.
"xxx As general candidates, they have no right to contend that other persons should not have been permitted to participate in the selection for the in-service quota seats. The eligibility of the petitioners having occurred only much later, we are of the clear view that the petitioners do not have the locus standi to contend that the criteria for selection of in-service candidates was illegal."
11. The exposition is that the candidates must be eligible as on the date of the decision on decategorization, or even on some change in criteria. This exposition, especially the exposition in the first decision, must apply on all fours. The second-round counselling for the allotment of seats reserved for In- service candidates is completed on 23.12.2025 followed by a decision to decategorize the unallotted seats for allotment to non-In-service candidates. The petitioners, inarguably, were ineligible as on the date of decategorization.
2 These writ petitions are decided on 27.02.2025
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12. The MoHFW's decision to lower the percentile is on 13.01.2026, and the petitioners rely upon this decision to assert a right, but by this date, the allotment of some of the decategorized seats has been completed in the subsequent round of counselling, with the counselling on 24.12.2025. This Court in opining thus is also cognizant of the fact that the decision on lowering the percentile is mostly a contingency; and if the seats that remain vacant are not allotted because of a possibility, that must lead to blocking of seats to accommodate a situation which may not come about. The first question is answered accordingly.
13. The petitioners contend that until the Academic Year 2022-23, the decision to decategorize In-service seats was being taken only after the mop- up round, but for the years beginning from the Academic Year 2023-24, the decision to decategorize the seats is taken immediately after completion of the second round, and that this results in reducing the
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR seats for In-service candidates especially when MoHFW later lowers the percentile [the eligibility]. The petitioners also assert that this decision to lower the percentile is made when the counselling process itself is underway, either in the mop-up round or in the stray round.
14. A Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in its decision on 27.02.2025 [supra] has observed that there must be a timely decision on lowering the percentile [the eligibility] so that the decision to decategorize unallotted seats reserved for In-service candidates is taken in the light of the same. This Court's observation reads as under:
"x x x However, we make it clear that it is for the MCC, NMC, and KEA to provide for reasonable cut off marks for selection to Medical PG Seats and to provide a reasonable time for decategorization of seats so that any decision to lower the eligibility criteria will also be taken into account before such decategorization is effected. These matters shall be appropriately considered by the authorities concerned in future selections."
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR This Court's observations and directions as aforesaid have not prevented litigation. The DME/KEA has decided on decategorization on 23.12.2025 and the MoHFW has decided on lowering the percentile on 13.01.2026. The decision to lower the percentile [the eligibility] is much after the decision to decategorize.
15. The DME/KEA and the MoHFW/NMC must decide in concert, and to ensure that this happens, in this Court's considered view, the onus must be on the DME and the KEA. They must ensure that the Calendar for Counselling, the details of the eligible candidates in terms of the notified percentile and all the other details are shared with the MoHFW at the earliest so that a timely decision is taken as is observed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court on 27.02.2025, which is reiterated by this Court in this order. The second question is answered accordingly with just directions in this regard. It is needless to observe that the directions do not confer a right, and
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NC: 2026:KHC-D:3604-DB WP No. 109452 of 2025 HC-KAR they are to ensure that the Courts are not repeatedly called upon to reiterate the directions in multiple petitions each year.
ORDER [A] The petition stands disposed of calling upon the DME and KEA to ensure that the details as aforesaid are communicated to the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, Union of India, at the earliest so that a decision, if any, on lowering the eligibility [the percentile] is in the light of the circumstances that are timely.
Sd/-
(B.M. SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE Sd/-
(SHIVASHANKAR AMARANNAVAR) JUDGE KGK, KMS/ CT: ASC List No.: 2 Sl No.: 8