SCA/13906/2003 1/4 JUDGMENT IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION No. 13906 of 2003 with SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION No. 13435 of 2005 For Approval and Signature: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. K.S.RADHAKRISHNAN HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE AKIL KURESHI ====================================== YASH MAYURBHAI PATEL & ORS - Petitioner(s) Versus JOINT ADMISSION COMMITTEE FOR PROFESSIONAL COURSES & ORS - Respondent(s) ====================================== Appearance : MR GM JOSHI for Petitioners MR DIPEN DESAI, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for Respondent(s) : 1 - 3. RULE SERVED BY DS for Respondent(s) : 1 - 5. MR BHASKAR P. TANNA, SR. ADVOCATE with MR. NIKHIL S. KARIEL for TANNA ASSOCIATES for Respondent(s) : 4 – 5. MR MITUL K. SHELAT for Resp. Nos. 4-5 in SCA No. 13435 of 2005. ====================================== CORAM : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. K.S.RADHAKRISHNAN and HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE AKIL KURESHI Date : __/10/2008 CAV JUDGMENT (Per : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. K.S.RADHAKRISHNAN) The issue involved in these two writ petitions are common and therefore, they have been heard together. SCA/13906/2003 2/4 JUDGMENT 2. These writ petitions have been preferred seeking a declaration that the action of the Municipal Corporation and others in not giving admission to the petitioners in free seat in the NHL Municipal Medical College for the First Year MBBS Course is illegal, and violative of Rules governing admission, published by the Corporation for the academic year 2003-2004. The petitioners claim that they fall within the expression `local students' under Rule 7 of the Admission Rules issued by the Municipal Corporation. According to the petitioners, as per the said Rules, only those students who are permanent residents of the city of Ahmedabad and who have passed 12th Standard HSC Examination can alone be considered for admission to free seats. Petitioners noticed that atleast eight students who were not local students were given admission to the MBBS Course for the year 2003-2004 in NHL Medical College, which is illegal and contrary to the principle laid down by the apex Court in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Vs. Nilaybhai R. Thakore – (1999) 8 SCC 139. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the Municipal Corporation was not justified in giving admission to those students who had studied in various higher secondary schools situated outside the Municipal limits of the Corporation. Learned counsel further submitted that barring 15% seats ear-marked for All India Quota, the Municipal Corporation should have filled-up rest of the seats only from the local students who satisfy the definition as provided under Rule 7 of the Admission Rules. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the respondent Municipal Corporation has drawn our attention to the affidavit-in-reply filed by them and submitted that it is entirely for the Municipal Corporation to determine the admission procedure. Learned counsel also placed reliance on the decision of this Court dated 5.9.2003 in Civil Application No. 6196 of 2003 in Letters Patent Appeal No. 865 of 2003 and pointed SCA/13906/2003 3/4 JUDGMENT out that this Court has stated that preference should be given to the local students for admission as per the prevalent Rules and shall be confined to 50% of the management seats only. Learned counsel also referred to the affidavit filed by the Member Secretary of the Centralized Medical Admission Committee and submitted that in NHL Medical College, there are 100 seats, out of that 15 seats are All India Quota and remaining 85 seats were filled-up by the Joint Admission Committee for Professional Courses. Out of 85 free seats, 46 seats were filled up by local students which is more than 50% intake capacity of 85 seats. Further, it was also pointed out by referring to paragraph 8 of the decision of apex Court in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation V. Nilaybhai R. Thakore (supra) that it is entirely for the Corporation to decide about the percentage of seats to be ear-marked for local students. 4. We have gone through the decision of the apex Court in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation V. Nilaybhai R. Thakore (supra), wherein the apex Court has held that so far as under-graduate courses are concerned, the reservations based on domicile, university or institution are permissible provided the said reservations are not wholesale. The apex Court also recognized the fact that it is for the Municipal Corporation, in exercise of the powers vested in it under Section 66(21) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, to frame the Rules. In other words, it was held that it is entirely for the Municipal Corporation to decide as to the percentage of seats to be ear-marked for the local students. Corporation in its wisdom felt that only 50% of the remaining seats be ear-marked for local students and rest for the students passing out of various institutions situated outside the local limits of the Municipality or the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, as the case may be. We find no illegality in such reservation of seats, which, in our view, does not violate the principle SCA/13906/2003 4/4 JUDGMENT laid down by the apex Court. We therefore, find no reason to grant relief prayed for in these writ petitions. Writ petitions therefore, lack merit and the same are dismissed. Rule is discharged with no order as to costs. (K.S. Radhakrishnan, C.J.) (Akil Kureshi, J.) */Mohandas