Dmt 1 wpl2510-11 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGNAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION (L) NO. 2510 OF 2011 Dr. Afsha A. Topal. .. Petitioner. versus National Board of Examinations & Anr. .. Respondents. ..... Mr. Nikhil Sahardande with Ms. Sowmya Srikrishna i/by Mr. S.R. Rege for the Petitioner. Mr. M.S. Bhardwaj for Respondent No. 1. ...... CORAM : DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD & A. A. SAYED, JJ. 15 DECEMBER 2011. P.C. : Dmt 2 wpl2510-11 Leave to amend. Amendment to be carried out forthwith. 2. Rule, by consent returnable forthwith. With the consent of Counsel and at their request the Petition is taken up for hearing and final disposal. 3. On 21 November this Court had issued notice to the First Respondent for final disposal of the petition at the stage of admission. Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the First Respondent had appeared at that stage. The Court directed that an affidavit in reply be filed. No Reply has been filed by the First Respondent. 4. The Petitioner was selected for a Post Graduate Diploma in Dermatology by the Jaslok Hospital, following a public advertisement, pursuant to an interview which was conducted on 23 June 2011. The Petitioner paid her fees on 24 June 2011 and was issued a letter dated 25 June 2011 offering Dmt 3 wpl2510-11 her the post of DNB-Trainee in Dermatology. However, the medical examination which was required to be held, was conducted on 1 July 2011 and following the medical examination, the Petitioner was allowed to join the course with effect from 1 July 2011. 5. The National Board of Examinations, the First Respondent, issued a circular dated 28 June 2011 to all NBE Accredited Hospitals stating that the last date of joining for the Primary candidates and Post Diploma candidates for the January 2011 session is 30 June 2011. The circular stated that candidates selected and joining after the cut off date of 30 June 2011 shall not be registered by the National Board of Examinations and their applications would be returned back. The Board has declined to grant registration to the Petitioner on the ground that she has joined on 1 July 2011 after the last date of joining which was 30 June 2011. This, according to the Board, is in breach of the admission guidelines. Dmt 4 wpl2510-11 6. The facts which emerge from the record disclose that the Petitioner was selected for the course as a Secondary DNB candidate in Dermatology on 23 June 2011. This was prior to the cut off date of 30 June 2011. A letter of appointment was issued to the Petitioner on 25 June 2011. The Petitioner paid her fees on 24 June 2011 to Jaslok Hospital. According to the Petitioner, the circular of the Board dated 28 June 2011 (Exhibit N) was received by the Hospital on 4 August 2011 which is recorded in a letter dated 5 August 2011 addressed by the Hospital to the Board (Exhibit O). In the letter dated 5 August 2011 it has also been stated that NBE did not display on the web site any information about the last date of joining as 30 June 2011. 7. We are conscious of the position of law that the prescribed cut off date for the grant of admissions has to be adhered to scrupulously in professional courses in particular. In the present case, the Jaslok Hospital has in its letter dated 10 September 2011 stated that the Petitioner had commenced Dmt 5 wpl2510-11 working in the Department with effect from 27 June 2011 as certified by the Head of the Department, Dr. I. Ramchandani, by his letter dated 5 August 2011. But, that apart, it is evident from the letter of the Board dated 29 August 2011 that the grievance of the Board appears to be that the candidate had joined on 1 July 2011 after the last date of admission. It is evident from the material on record that the Petitioner was selected as a Secondary DNB candidate and paid her fees to the Hospital much prior to the cut off date. The admission of the Petitioner was of course subject to the physical fitness test which was carried on by the Hospital on 1 July 2011. This is a circumstance over which the Petitioner had no control. In the facts of the case, therefore, there was no breach of the requirements of the Board for grant of admission to the Petitioner much prior to the cut off date of 30 June 2011. We, accordingly, allow the Petition by setting aside the impugned communication of the Board. Rule is made absolute by quashing and setting aside the impugned communication dated 17 November 2011 and by directing the Board to grant Dmt 6 wpl2510-11 registration to the Petitioner in the Secondary DNB post. No order as to costs. (Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J.) (A. A. Sayed, J.)