1 as-wp-8745-10.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION jmi WRIT PETITION NO. 8745 OF 2010. Aniket Shrikant Patil, through Mr. Shrikant Narayan Patil. ..Petitioner. vs. Directorate of Medical Education & Ors. ..Respondents. .... Mr. Uday P. Warunjikar, for Petitioner. Mr. A.A. Joshi, for Respondent No.3. Mr. Rahul Kadam, for Respondent No.4. Mrs. Sana Yusuf Bangwala, i/b. S.M. Gorwadkar, for Respondent No.5. Mr. S.N. Patil, AGP, for Respondent Nos. 1 & 2. .... CORAM : MOHIT S. SHAH, C.J. & S.J.KATHAWALLA, J. DATE : 22ND DECEMBER 2010. P.C. The Petitioner passed his 12th standard examination in March 2010 and appeared in the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to Ayurved and Yunani Courses. The Petitioner passed the said examination and applied for admission to various colleges including Respondent Nos.3 and 4 colleges. So far as Respondent No.4 college is concerned, it is a Government aided college and the Petitioner was considered to be ineligible for the admission of full time course for the main Ayurved course on the ground that the Petitioner had not completed 17 years as on 1st October in the year of admission for Main Ayurved Course. However the Petitioner had secured admission in the Respondent No.3 college which is a private un-aided college. The Petitioner has been persuing his main Ayurved 2 as-wp-8745-10.sxw course in the said Respondent No.3 college. 2. In this Petition, the Petitioner has contended that the presumption of cut off date for determining the minimum age as on 1st October 2010 is arbitrary and unreasonable as the same condition was not applicable to private un-aided college i.e. Respondent No.3 and the Central Council of Indian Medicine, New Delhi has put cut- off date of 31st December of the year of admission for other related courses for determining minimum age of 17 years. This Petition came to be filed on 21st October 2010 and thereafter, the Central Council of Indian Medicine has amended the regulations for (Minimum Standards of Education in Indian Medicine) Regulations, 1986 for passing the following Resolution : “Ayurveda Committee discussed the Draft Regulation and after discussion following decision were taken to make the amendment :- 1. Minimum age for admission – it was noted that following provision has been made in the Regulations prescribed by MCI for the admission for MBBS Course. “(1) He/She shall complete the age of 17 years on or before 31st December of the year of admission to the MBBS Course.” Ayurved Committee agreed to amend the proposed draft Regulation accordingly.” 3. On the hearing of this Petition, the learned Counsel for the Respondent No.4 states that all these seats in the main Ayurved college were filled in and presently there is no vacancy. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner however submits that as and when there is a vacancy in future or transfers are permitted at that time, the case may 3 as-wp-8745-10.sxw be considered by the Respondent No.4 without disqualifying the Petitioner on the ground that he has not completed 17 years on 1st October 2010. 4. Having heard the learned Counsel for the parties, we dispose of the Writ Petition with a direction that in case of Respondent No.4 college – Tilak Ayurvedic College, Pune has any vacancy in the main Ayurved course in the batch of 2010-2011, the Petitioner shall be given first preference for such transfer and that in view of the decision of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, the Respondent No.4 college shall apply cut off date of 31st December 2010 as the relevant date for determining whether the concerned candidate had completed the age of 17 years. 5. Writ Petition is accordingly disposed of. CHIEF JUSTICE [ S.J. KATHAWALLA, J. ]