Delhi High Court
Union Of India And Ors vs Samridhi Sushil Sharma on 21 December, 2020
$~29
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ LPA 329/2020 & CMs No.28204/2020 (for stay) & 28208/2020 (for
condonation of 59 days delay in filing the appeal)
UNION OF INDIA AND ANR. ..... Appellants
Through: Mr. Ruchir Mishra, Mr. Mukesh
Kumar Tiwari and Mr. Ramneek
Mishra, Advs.
Versus
SAMRIDHI SUSHIL SHARMA ..... Respondent
Through: Mr. Rakesh Kumar Khanna, Sr. Adv.
with Mr. Vinod Kumar and Mr.
Shashank Sharma, Advs.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE ASHA MENON
ORDER
% 21.12.2020
[VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING]
1. The Union of India (UOI), through the Ministry of Women and Child
Development and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is in appeal
against the judgment dated 19th June, 2020 of the Single Judge of this Court,
allowing W.P.(C) No.10722/2019 preferred by the respondent.
2. W.P.(C) No.10722/2019 was filed by the respondent, seeking
direction to the appellant No. 1 Ministry of Women and Child Development,
to nominate the respondent for the MBBS course, 2019 against the seat
reserved for the National Bravery Awardees, in NSCB Medical College,
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in terms of Government of India, Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, Office Memorandum (OM) dated 16th August,
2019.
3. The appellants UOI opposed the aforesaid claim of the respondent in
the writ petition, contending that the respondent was the awardee of the
National Bravery Award instituted by the Indian Council for Child Welfare
(ICCW), a Non-Governmental Organisation but with which the appellant
UOI had disassociated as far back as in the year 2018, pursuant to
revamping of the Scheme of the National Child Award of Exceptional
Achievements, renamed as the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, and
after the appellants UOI had so disassociated, the said seats were meant for
the awardees of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar only.
4. The Single Judge did not accept the aforesaid contention of the
appellants UOI and allowed the writ petition of the respondent, directing
that the respondent be recommended by the appellants UOI for being
admitted to the MBBS course for the academic year 2020-2021, based on
her result of the NEET examination held for the academic year 2019-2020.
5. Though the appeal came up first before this Court on 9th November,
2020 but was adjourned from time to time without any effective order being
passed.
6. We have today enquired from the counsel for the appellants UOI, the
status of the subject course i.e. whether the MBBS course with respect to
which direction was issued, has commenced or not and whether the
respondent has already been recommended by the appellants UOI, pursuant
to the directions of the Single Judge.
7. The counsel for the appellants UOI states that the last date for
admission is 31st December, 2020 and the respondent has not been
recommended for admission or admitted as yet. It is further informed that
though the appellants UOI till date have not complied with the impugned
order but by way of abundant caution, besides the two seats already reserved
for awardees pursuant to OM dated 16th August, 2019, has, for this year
only, got an additional seat released, to be allocated at the instance of the
appellants UOI, so that if this Letter Patent Appeal (LPA) is dismissed, the
order of the Single Judge can be complied with and the appellants UOI do
not become liable for contempt.
8. Since now we are very close to 31st December, 2020, we have
proposed, (i) that the additional seat which has been specially created/got
released for this year, be allocated to the respondent, without prejudice to
the rights and contentions of the appellants UOI, inasmuch as there is no
possibility of any other candidate being entitled thereto or being admitted
therefor; and, (ii) that since we have not gone into the questions urged by the
appellants UOI in this appeal and in which we otherwise find merit (subject
to hearing the senior counsel for the respondent), it be ordered that the
order/judgment of the Single Judge impugned in this appeal shall not
constitute a precedent for any other candidate or for any subsequent year
and/or in any other litigation, even before the Single Judges of this Court
and will not constitute a precedent otherwise also.
9. The counsel for the appellants UOI states that he be granted time to
verify, whether there are any other applicant/s under the Pradhan Mantri
Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.
10. We are however not inclined. Since under the OM dated 16th August,
2019, there were only two seats allocated, none else can claim an additional
seat, as a matter of right. The third seat which has got released for this year
is in the nature of a supernumerary seat, the benefit whereof can be availed
of by the respondent only and not by anyone else.
11. We may state that we feel the aforesaid arrangement to be
appropriate, also for the reason that in view of the order of the Single Judge,
the respondent also today has been placed in a position where there is no
time left for her to consider any other option and also because there is no
possibility of any other candidate for MBBS course in the academic year
2020-2021 securing the said supernumerary seat, even if were to not be
allocated to the respondent.
12. We clarify, that the counsel for the appellants UOI wants to argue the
appeal on merit and we have, notwithstanding his contentions, deemed the
aforesaid arrangement to be apposite in the facts and circumstances of the
case. We may state that the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, in appeal whereagainst we are sitting, empowers this
Court to pass appropriate orders, as may be deemed fit in the facts and
circumstances.
13. We accordingly close this appeal in terms of paragraph 8 hereinabove
and further direct the appellants UOI to immediately, well before 31st
December, 2020, comply with the orders of the Single Judge.
14. We further clarify that the benefit of this order shall not be available
to any other awardee of ICCW.
15. The appeal is disposed of.
RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW, J.
ASHA MENON, J.
DECEMBER 21, 2020
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