WP(C) 2881/2009 BEFORE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B.K. SHARMA. Heard Ms P. Barman, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. D. Saikia, learned Standing Counsel, Health. By means of this writ petition, the petitioner, who is an aspirant for a dmission into the M.B.B.S. Course, 2009, has challenged the decision of the sele ction committee not to admit her under the quota earmarked for rural area catego ry candidates. The petitioner, who appeared in the H.S.L.C. examination from th e institution called Delhi Public School, Duliajan and H.S.S.L.C. examination fr om the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Duliajan claims to be a resident of rural a rea. As per the policy regarding the reservation of seats, 15 (fifteen) seats are reserved for candidates hailing from rural areas. The particular clause in this regard is quoted below :- (m) Reservation for Rural Candidates Reservation of 15 seats in MBBS shall be kept for candidates who are permanent resident of the rural areas of Assam : (i) who have studied and appeared in HSLC examination from a School situated in an area which falls within the jurisdiction of any Gapon Panchayat (GP) of t he State. The petitioner in her writ petition has stated that she is a permanent resident of Duliajan in the district of Dibrugarh. In the affidavit sworn in support of t he writ petition also, the petitioner has indicated her address as a resident of Duliajan in the district of Dibrugarh. In the Annexure-D Permanent Resident Cer tificate also, the petitioner has been indicated as the inhabitant of Duliajan under Police Station Duliajan in the district of Dibrugarh. However, in Annexure -D certificate dated 9.7.2009 issued by the Tipling Gaon Panchayat, it has been stated that the Delhi Public School, Duliajan is situated under the said Gaon Panchayat. Likewise, in Annexure-E certificate issued by the Inspector of Scho ols also, it has been stated that the school in question is within the said Gaon Panchayat. It is on the above basis, the petitioner has prayed for accommodating her agains t a seat under the category of rural area . The respondents in their counter affidavit has denied the claim of the petitione r. According to them, by no stretch of imagination, the petitioner can be said to be an inhabitant of rural area. It has been stated that Duliajan is an urban area and being an OIL town, cannot be said to be in the rural area. In this con nection, they have also referred to the application form submitted by the petiti oner, in which the petitioner under Column-14 under the Head - Permanent Addres s of the candidate has indicated the same to be - House No.7, Udayan Vihar, P.O . Satgaon, Dist. Kamrup, Guwahati. The Duliajan address has been shown as corr espondence address only. The respondents in their affidavit has emphasized on the true pur port and meaning of the tern rural area . I have considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and the materials on record. The Selection Board in its decision towards consideration of the claim of the petitioner that she belongs to the rural area, has observed as follows :- The Selection Board for selection of candidates for MBBS/BDS Courses, 2009 rais ed objection against allotting a seat under rural area to the candidate Miss. Sa yeda Shabana Yashmin, Roll No.120027, total marks in CEE 2009 - 188 and ranking 262 in the merit list on the ground that she is a permanent resident of the OIL town of Duliajan. As per the rule 6 sub-rule (m) the candidates who are permane nt resident of the Rural areas of Assam and have studied and appeared in HSLC examination from a school situated in an area which falls within the jurisdicti on of any Gaon Panchayat of the State can only be selected under the rural area quota. It is a well know fact that Duliajan is a modern Oil Township situated w ithin greater Duliajan and cannot be considered as a rural area even in widest of imagination. Besides, the school where the candidate has studied is a privat e school of national repute (Delhi Public School) and can hardly be declared as a rural school. The Board considered that if the said candidate gets selection u nder the rural area quota, then the whole concept of the Govt. to uplift the rur al population of Assam by reserving some seats for them will be defeated. The aforesaid decision of the Selection Board cannot be said to be arbitrary or illegal having regard to the purpose of admission of the candidates under the c ategory of rural area. If the petitioner is a resident of OIL Town of Duliajan a nd passed her HSLC and HSSLC examinations from Delhi Public School, Duliajan a nd Kendriya vidyalaya Sangathan, Duliajan and as per her own admission is a perm anent resident of Guwahati, she cannot be said to be an inhabitant of rural area . Merely because the school in question falls within the particular Gaon Panchay at, same by itself cannot make the area a rural area. The true meaning and purp ort of the decision of the authority to provide medical admission to rural area candidates will have to be understood in the touch stone of the true meaning of the term rural area . There cannot be any scope for manipulation in this reg ard. Considering the matter in its entirety, the aforesaid decision of the Se lection Board, cannot be faulted with. Writ petition is dismissed.