WPMS/990/2021
2021 Latest Caselaw 1691 UK

 IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
              AT NAINITAL
               ON THE 19TH DAY OF MAY, 2021

                               BEFORE:

     HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI


              Writ Petition (M/S) No.990 of 2021

BETWEEN:
  Dr. Laxman Singh Brijwal                              .....Petitioner
     (By Mr. Pankaj Tangwan, Advocate)




AND:

     Union of India & Others                       .....Respondents
     (By Mr. Rakesh Thapliyal, Assistant Solicitor General assisted by Mr.
     Lalit Sharma, Standing Counsel for Union of India/respondents)



                             JUDGMENT

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has challenged the order dated 17.04.2021 passed by Dean (Academics), AIIMS, Rishikesh. By the said order, petitioner's representation, made pursuant to the order of this Court passed in WPMS No.794 of 2021, has been rejected.

3. It transpires that petitioner applied for admission in PG Diploma Course, pursuant to a notification issued by AIIMS Rishikesh in the month of August, 2020. Selection for admission to said PG Diploma course was to be made through a competitive examination. Petitioner participated in

the competitive examination and he was one of the 13 candidates who were short-listed for interview. Petitioner faced interview but he was not given admission. Since there were 05 seats available in the said course namely, PG Diploma in Respiratory Medicine, but only 04 seats were filled and since petitioner was the 5th candidate in order of merit, therefore, he filed the writ petition before this Court being WPMS No.794 of 2021. The said writ petition was disposed of by order dated 01.04.2021 with liberty to the petitioner to make a representation and the Competent Authority in AIIMS, Rishikesh was directed to take decision thereupon within a period of two weeks. Pursuant to the said order dated 01.04.2021, petitioner made a representation. Dean (Academics), AIIMS, Rishikesh has rejected petitioner's representation vide order dated 17.04.2021. Thus, feeling aggrieved, petitioner has again approached this Court.

4. In the impugned order passed by Dean (Academics), AIIMS, Rishikesh, it is admitted that there were 05 seats available in PG Diploma (Respiratory Medicine Course) and 13 candidates were called for interview based on their performance in the written examination. From perusal of the impugned order, it is further revealed that out of the 13 short-listed candidates, only 12 appeared for interview and out of those 12 candidates, 04 were given admission in PG Diploma (Respiratory Medicine). Thus, it is an admitted position that 01 seat is still lying vacant in the aforesaid course. It is

also an admitted position that petitioner stands 5th in order of merit in the selection for admission to the aforesaid course.

5. The only reason assigned for not granting admission to the petitioner is that he has scored only 17.47 percentile in the selection process. The impugned order, however, is silent as to whether there was any condition regarding cut-off marks stipulated before commencement of selection process. In the absence of such requirement, admission could not have been denied to the petitioner. He stands 5th in order of merit against 05 seats. Since this aspect has been overlooked in the impugned order, therefore, the impugned order dated 17.04.2021 is liable to be set aside and the same is hereby set-aside. The Dean (Academics), AIIMS, Rishikesh, is directed to reconsider petitioner's representation on merits and pass a speaking order in accordance with law within two weeks from today.

6. With the aforesaid observation and direction, the writ petition stands disposed of finally.

7. All pending applications also stand disposed of.

(MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI, J.) Rajni