Sudhir N & Ors vs State Of Kerala & Ors

3. Forty percent of the seats available in the State of Kerala for post- graduate medical admission are reserved for in-service doctors serving in the Health Service Department, Medical College lecturers and doctors serving in the Employees State Insurance Department of the State. As per the practice prevalent before the enactment of the impugned legislation admissions against such reserved seats were made on the basis of seniority of in-service candidates in each category. Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations of Medical Council of India, 2000, however, made it mandatory for all candidates seeking admission to post-graduate medical courses to appear for a common entrance examination. The Regulations, inter-alia, provide that candidates who appears in the common entrance examination and secure 50% in the case of general category candidates and 40% in the case of SC/ST candidates alone shall be qualified for such admission. Consequently, even in-service candidates had to appear and qualify in the common entrance examination. Representations appear to have been received by the Government from many quarters pointing out that in-service candidates who were working around the clock for the benefit of the public even in remote rural areas could hardly find time to update their knowledge and compete with the general merit candidates so as to score the required 50% marks in the common entrance examination and to qualify for admission to any post-graduate course. Considering these representations, the Government decided to bring a legislation to overcome the difficulties faced by in-service candidates in the matter of getting admission to post- graduate courses. The legislation envisaged a quota for medical officers in the service of the State Government on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. More importantly, in terms of Section 3 of Act No.29 of 2008 selection of medical officers to the post-graduate courses under the service quota was to be made by a Selection Committee called the Post Graduate Course Medical Selection Committee constituted under Section 4 of the said Act. Section 5 of the Act empowered the Government to set apart seats not exceeding 40% of the total seats available in the State quota for any academic year for selection of medical officers under 'service quota' for admission to post-graduate medical courses in medical colleges of the State. Sub-section (2) of Section 5 provided that the academic qualifications for admission to the post-graduate courses shall be an MBBS degree with a minimum of 50% marks besides other qualifications that may be prescribed. Sub-section (4) of Section 5 required the Post-graduate Selection Committee to finalise the selection list directly based on the seniority of the in-service medical officers and following such other criteria as may be prescribed. Section 6 provided for grant of weightage for 'rural area service' or 'difficult rural area service' as the case may be, in the matter of selection of the candidates for admission. Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 to the extent they are relevant may be re-produced at this stage:

7. On behalf of the in-service doctors an attempt was made to justify the enactment on the ground that, but, for a provision permitting a quota for service aspirants for admission to post-graduate courses it would be difficult to compete with fresh graduates who may be academically better off than candidates who have since long given up their studies and devoted themselves entirely to the service of the people at large some of them inhabiting in remote and difficult areas of the State.

11. The present appeals assail the correctness of the above order and judgment.

(iv) Whether the State law encroaches upon Entry 66 of the Union List or is repugnant to the law made by the Centre under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List, will have to be determined by the examination of the two laws and will depend upon the facts of each case.

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21. In the result, these appeals fail and are hereby dismissed but in the circumstances without any order as to costs.