Case: Principal, King George's Medical College Lucknow Vs. Dr. Vishan Kumar Agarwal and Another

This appeal, with its long and labyrinthian history, sums up how the process of law can frustrate rather than further the cause of justice. The appeal portrays the resolute story of a medical graduate who has been trying over the past eight years to obtain a post-graduate qualification. Law has both helped and hindered him in that quest. His name is Vishan Kumarappeal is filed by the principal, King Georges Medical College, Lucknow, against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court dated March 27, 1980. Respondent No. 1 is Dr. Vishan Kumar Agarwal, while respondent No. 2 who supports him is the Head of the Department of Physiology of the Medical College. In a writ petition filed by Dr. V.K. Agarwal under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court issued a mandamus asking the appellant to declare the result of the examination for the degree of M.D. (Physiology) for which the petitioner had appeared in July 1977. We will refer to Dr. V.K. Agarwal as the respondent.

Reasoning:
We agree with the High Court that the papers relating to the admission of Dr. (Miss) Saxena and Dr. (Mrs.) Gupta show that the requirement of clause (c), was not invariably insist ed upon by the University or by the College. They did not regard that requirement as mandatory. We consider it unfair that the respondent should be picked up for a differential treatment, though situated similarly in the matter of the application of clause (c). If the requirement of clause (c) could be relaxed in the case of the other two candidates in regard to their admission to the M.D. course of studies, it would not be permissible to the University to regard that requirement as mandatory in the case of the respondent when he applied for admission to the very same course of studies. Clause (c) does not apply differently to men andis no substance in the contention of the University or of the Principal of the Medical College that the University authorities committed an error in the case of the two women-candidates. Neither the University nor the Principal of the Medical College filed any counter-affidavit to the amended writ petition, with t he result that the averments made by the respondent in regard to the relaxation made in favour of those two candidates remained uncontroverted. It is therefore not open to the University authorities to contend that the relaxation in favour of the two candidates was inadvertent or that it was made under a misconception.In all future cases the interpretation put by us on Ordinance 1 must hold good. In so far as the case of the respondent is concerned, his writ petition succeeds on the ground that the University and the College authorities must apply the same yard-stick to all the students who apply for admission to the post-graduate course ofthe rules contained in the Ordinance governing ad mission to the post-graduate course of studies are mandatory or directory is a matter which the University shall have to consider after taking all relevant factors into account like the nature of the requirement, its purpose and the consequences of its relaxation on educational excellence. We have not gone into that question because, no contention in that behalf was made either before us or in the High Court. One thing, however, must be made clear that if the University considers that any provision is not mandatory, its relaxation in particular cases has to be governed by objective considerations. No public authority, least of all a University which is entrusted with the future of the student community, can pick and choose persons for receiving the benefit of relaxation of the rules. In the first place, the rigour of a rule can be relaxed provided such relaxation is permissible under the rules or if the rule is directory and not mandatory. Secondly, eve n if it is permissible to relax a rule, such relaxation, as stated above, must be goverded by defined guidelines.