Supreme Court of India
DINESH KUMAR & ORS.versusMOTILAL NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE, ALLAHABAD & ORS
- Citation
- 1986 INSC 149
- Decided
- 21 July 1986
- Disposal
- Modified
Holding
The Court held that a minimum of 15% of MBBS/BDS seats and 25% of postgraduate seats must be filled on an All‑India basis through an English‑language examination, with no weightage for rural service, and assigned the Central Board of Secondary Education and AIIMS as the respective conducting bodies.
Summary
The Supreme Court revisited its earlier judgment on reservation in medical colleges, directing that at least 15% of MBBS/BDS seats and 25% of postgraduate seats in each college be filled through an All‑India Entrance Examination conducted in English. It modified the formula for non‑reserved seats, rejecting state demands for regional language exams and limiting the weightage for rural service to zero. The Court held that states like Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir could not exempt themselves from the All‑India exam unless they met the same seat‑allocation percentages. It approved the syllabus prepared by the Medical Council of India and assigned the Central Board of Secondary Education to conduct the undergraduate exam and AIIMS to conduct the postgraduate exam. The judgment also emphasized merit‑based selection, rejected any weightage for rural service, and directed the Government of India to revise the examination schemes within two weeks.
Issues considered
- The appropriate percentage of seats to be filled through an All‑India Entrance Examination for MBBS/BDS and postgraduate courses.
- Whether the All‑India Entrance Examination may be conducted in regional languages or must be in English.
- The conditions under which states exempted from the earlier judgment may participate in the All‑India exam.
- The appropriate agency to conduct the All‑India Entrance Examination for undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses.
- The permissibility of granting weightage for rural service in postgraduate admissions.
Legislation cited
Subjects
reservationmedical educationAll‑India Entrance Examinationequality clausemeritstate domicile reservationrural service weightageadmission to MBBSpost‑graduate medical courses
Judgment
A
DINESH KUMAR & ORS.
v.
MOTILAL NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE,
ALLAHABAD & ORS B
JULY 21, 1986
[P.N. BHAGWATI, C.J. AND R.N. MISRA J.]
- Professional. Colleges-Admission to Medical Co/leges-
Graduate and Post-Graduate Courses-Reservation of seats-Holding
of All-India Entrance Examinations-No weightage for rural service in
admission to Post-Graduate Courses.
c
By its main judgment in the case, the Court on 22nd June 1984
fixed the outer limit of reservation of seats in the medical colleges in the D
State for admission to the MBBS and BDS courses at 70 per cent. In
respect of the resultant 30 per cent of the open seats thus available for
admission of students on All Irtdia basis irrespective of the State or
University from which they come, it directed that such admission shall
be granted purely on merit on the basis of either an All India Entrance
Examination or entrance examination to be held by the State. In regard E
to admission to post-graduate courses such as MD, MS and the like,
taking note of the institutional preference it took the view that such
reservation should not in any event exceed 50 per cent of the total
number of open seats available for admission.
On the failure of the Government of India and the Indian Medical F
Council to make necessary arrangements for holding an All-India Entr-
ance Examination, the Court directed the Indian Medical Council to
come forward with a scheme of examination for regulating admission to
non-reserved seats for the above courses.
Pursuant to a direction of the Court given on September 16, 1985 G
the Ministry of Health, Government of India convened a meeting of the
Deans of Medical Faculties of various Universities, Health Secretaries
of various State Governments, the representatives of the Medicai
Council of India, Dental Council of India, National Board of Examina-
tions, National Academy of Medical Sciences and the Central Board of
H
345
346 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986] 3 S.C.R.
A Secondary Education to consider the schem~ prepared by the Medical 1
Council of India, which was then modified and redrafted.
When the revised scheme submitted by the Government of India
was taken up for consideration counsel for various State Governments
B made their submissions pleading for certain changes in the scheme.
Modifying the main judgment, the Court directed:
t
-
1. The All-India Entrance Examination should be held in the
English language. Since the medium of instruction in the MBBS/BDS
course and post-Graduate courses is in English and the entire medical
c edncation is being imparted in the English language throughout the
country, and it is not practically feasible to hold the All-India Entrance
Examination in diverse regional languages. [354A-B]
2.1 To be fair and just and to bring about real equality of op-
D portunity in admission to the MBBS/BDS course without placing the
students in one State in an advantageous or disadvantageous position as
compared to the students in another State not less than 1S per cent of
the total number of seats in each medical college or institution, without
taking into account any reservations validly made, shall be filled on the
basis of All-India Entrance Examination, in modification of the formula
E adopted in the main judgment. [35SF-G I
F
2.2 The same formula must apply also in regard to admissions to
the post-Graduate courses, and instead of making available for admis-
sion on all-India basis SO per cent of the open seats, after taking into
account reservations validly made, not less than 25 per cent of the total
number of seats without taking into account any reservations, shall be
-
made available for being filled on the basis of All-India Entrance
Examination.
3. The students from the States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu
and Kashmir should not be entitled to appear in the All-India Entrance
G Examination, unless these States agree to make not less than IS per cent
of the total number of seats for the MBBS/BDS course and not less than
25 per cent of the total number of seats for the post-graduate courses in
their respective medical colleges or institutions available for admission 'r-
on the basis of All-India Entrance Examination.
H 4. The syllabus for the All-India Entrance Examination framed
DINESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE 347
by the Medical Council of India and accepted by the Goverrunent of A
India and all the State Governments, except the State of Maharashtra.
is approved. The Education Department of each State as also the
Board of Secondary and/or Higher Secondary Education in each State
t_o suitably amend its syllabus or course for the 12th year so as to bring
it in line with the syllabus approved, so that the students passing the
B
qualifying examination of 12th year may be properly equipped to face
the All-India Entrance Examination. Adoption of a common syllabus at
+ 12 level throughout the country for the sake of uniformity in the
educational pattern is desirable.
5. Until an independent statutory body to conduct All-India Entr·
ance Examinations, both for the MBBS1BDS course and the Post· c
graduate courses is set up, the Central Board of Secondary Education
to hold the All-India Entrance Examination for admission to the MBBS/
BDS course. The Government of India to provide the necessary finance
for holding such examination. The Government of India also to
arrange for the conduct of the All India Entrance Examination for
D
post-graduate courses by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and
to provide the necessary facilities and finance. If for any reason, the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences is not prepared to undertake the
task, the Government of India may entrust this task to th~ Medical
Council of India.
E
6. The scheme of the All· India Entrance Examinations necessar·
ily to be confined to medical colleges or institutions run hy the Union of
India or a State Government or a Municipal or other local authority.
The medical colleges or institutions excepted from the operation of the
judgment dated 22nd .Jnne 1984 will continue to remain outside the
scope of the scheme.
F
* 7. The All-India Entrance Examination for the MBBS BDS
course shall be held once in a year which may commence at any time
between 15th July and 1st of August every year. One more date added to
para 14 of the scheme, namely the result of the All-India Entrance
Examination shall be declared sometime between 15th and 20th June. A
G
list of successful candidates shall he prepared in order of merit and it
shall comprise the names of as many students as the number of vacant
seats available for admission, plus 10 per cent more, and there shall also
be a waiting list. The students shall he entitled to appear at the All-India
Entrance Examination even if the result of the qualifying examination
has not yet been declared. H
348 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986) 3 S.C.R.
A 8. I There should be only one All-India Entrance Examination for
the post-graduate courses in a year, for which general announcement to
be made in the last week of November, application forms to be made
available by post till 10th January, from cash counter till ?0th January.
last date for receiving application forms 3 lst January, competitive test
in middle of March, and result to be declared in the first week of May.
B
Every student who has passed his MBBS Examination shall be eligible
for appearing at this examination even though he has not completed his
compulsory rotating internship practical training, but he shall not be
entitled to be admitted until he has completed such internship or practi-
cal training and obtained registration either from the Medical Councii
of India or a State Medical Council. -:
c
8.2 Admissions to post-graduate courses for the academic year
commencing in 1987 may be given on the basis that the judgment dated
22nd June, 1984 does not govern such admissions, but an All-India
Entrance Examination would have to be held in 1987 for the students
who would be passing MBBS Examination in the end of 1986 and who
D
would be completing their compulsory rotating internship 1practical
training in the end of 1987 and seeking admission to post-graduate
courses for the academic year commencing in 1988. However, it would
be open to a student to appear at the All India Entrance Examination
even after he has completed his compulsory rotating internshipipracti-
cal training and he would be entitled to compete for admission to post-
E
graduate courses for the academic year immediately following the com-
pletion of his internship or practical training.
9. No weight age should be given to a candidate for rural service
rendered by him. So far as admissions to post-graduate courses are
concerned, when selection of candidates is being made for admission on
F
an All-India basis, no factor other than merit should be allowed to tilt
the balance in favour of a candidate.
10. Directions not to be construed in a manner prejudicing or
affecting or detracting from any role, regulation or other provision
entitling stlldents from other States, including the States of Andhra
G
Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, to be considered for admission to
the remaining 85 per cent and 75 per cent seats for the MBBS/BDS
course and post-graduate courses respectively.
11. The GoHrnment of India to consider setting up Regional
H Institutes of Medical Sciences where admission would be open to stu-
DINESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE [BHAGWATI. C.J.J 349
~ dents from all over the country. If such institutes are set up providing A
I opportunity to students from all over the country to compete for admis-
sion on the basis of merit. it may become unnecessary to reserve 15 per
cent of the total number of seats for admission to the MBBS/BDS course
and 25 per cent of the total number of seats for admission to post-
graduate courses in each medical college or institution on the basis of B
All India Entrance Examination.
1! ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 348-
j 352 of 1985
~
...... Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India .
c
P.P. Singh, M. Veerappa, P.H. Parekh, B.D. Sharma, N.M.
Ghatate, R.N. Poddar, M.N. Shroff, Madan Lokur, Mrs. S. Dixit,
~ Surya Kant, R.C. Verma, L.K. Pandey, D.N. Mukherjee, A.S.
Bhasme, S.K. Nandy and A. V. Rangam for the appearing parties.
D
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
BHAGW ATI, CJ: The main judgment in this case was delivered
by us on 22nd June, 1984 and we held in that judgment that "wholesale
reservation made by some of the State Governments on the basis of
'domicile' or residence requirement within the State or on the basis of
"" institutional preference for students who have passed the qualifying
examination held by the University or the State, excluding all students
E
not satisfying this requirement, regardless of merit" was unconstitu-
tional and void as offending the equality clause of the Constitution.
-~- But after condemning such wholesale reservation, we proceeded to
observe that the very mandate of the equality clause viewed in the F
perspective of social justice, would justify some extent of reservation
* based on residence requirement within the State or on institutional
. preference for students passing the qualifying examination held by the
University or the State and addressing ourselves to the question to
what extent such reservation might be regarded as constitutionally
permissible, we said: G
"It is not possible to provide a categorical answer to this
question, for as pointed out by the policy statement of the
'-1 Government of India, the extent of such reservation would
' depend on several factors including opportunities for pro-
fessional education in that particular area, the extent of H
350 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (19861 3 s.c.R.
A competition, level of education development of the area
and other relevant factors. It may be that in a State where
the level of educational development is woefully low, there
are comparatively inadequate opportunities for training in
the medical speciality and there is large scale social and
B economic backwardness, there may be justification for re-
servation of a higher percentage of seats in the medical
colleges in the State and such higher percentage of seats in
the medical colleges in the State may not militate against +
"the,equality mandate viewed in the perspective of social ··~·
c
justice". So many variables depending on social and
economic facts in the context of educational opportunities
would enter into the determination of the question as to
what in the case of any particular State, should be the limit
-
of reservation based on residence requirement within the
State or on institutional preference. But, in our opinion,
such reservation should in no event exceed the outer limit
D of 70 per cent of the total number of open seats after taking
into account other kinds of reservations validly made. The
Medical Education Review Committee had suggested that
the outer limit should not exceed 75 per cent but we are of
the view that it would be fair and just to fix the outer limit
at 70 per cent. We are laying down this outer limit of reser-
vation in an attempt to reconcile the apparently conflicting
E
claims of equality and excellence."
We pointed out that in the result at least 30 per cent of tile open seats
shall be available for admission of students on All India basis irrespec-
tive of the State or University from which they come" and directed
F that "such admissions shall be granted purely on merit on the basis of
either All India Entrance Examination or entrance examination to be
held by the State". This was the decision given by us in regard to
admissions to the MBBS and BDS courses. We then proceeded to
discuss the question of admissions to post-graduate courses such as
MD, MS and the like and taking into account broader considerations
of equality of opportunity and institutional continuity in education
G
which has its own value and relevance, we took the view that though
residence requirement within the State should not be a ground for
reservation in admissions to Post-Graduate courses, a certain per-
centage of seats may be reserved on the basis of institutional prefer-
ence in the sense that a student who has passed MBBS-course from a
H Medical College may be given preference for admission io Post
DINESH v. M.L.NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE [BHAGWATI, C.J.] 351
Graduate course in the same Medical College or University, but such A
'r reservation on the basis of institutional preference should not in any
event exceed 50 per cent of the total number of open seats available for
admissions to the Post-graduate course.
We thought that pursuant to this judgment delivered by us, the B
Government of India and the Indian Medical Council would make the
necessary arrangements for holding an All-India Entrance Examina-
t l
lion for selection of students so far as the minimum 30 per cent non-
---.. reserved seats for the MBBS course and the minimum 50% non- ·
- reserved seats for the Post graduate course were concerned. But, no
steps were taken by the Government of India or the Indian Medical
Council for holding such an All-India Entrance examination and we
had, therefore, to give a direction to the Indian Medical Council to
come forward with a positive scheme for holding Ah-India Entrance
c
y Examination for regulating admissions to the minimum 30 per cent
non-reserved seats for the MBBS course and the minimum 50% non-
reserved seats for Post graduate course, so that admissions to these D
minimum non-reserved seats may be made on the basis of comparative
evaluation of merit of the students through such All-India Entrance
Examination. We also pointed out in a subsequent judgment delivered
by us on 1st May 1985 that the all-India Entrance Examination should
be conducted in at least one centre in each State and that "having
regard to the size of the population, the number of students seeking
E
admission and the extent of the geographical area of the State, it might
be desirable to have more than one centre in some State or States both
in regard to admissions to the Post graduate-courses as also in regard
to admissions to the MBBS course." It seems that pursuant to the
~ directions given by us, a scheme for holding All-India Entrance Ex-
amination for admission to the minimum 30% non-reserved seats for F
the MBBS/B0S course as well as for admission to the minimum 50%
+ non-reserved seats for the Post graduate course was formulated by the
Medical Council of India and it was circulated amongst the various
State Governments. 'Some of the State Governments including the
University of Bombay put forward certain difficulties in the implemen-
tation of the scheme as suggested by the Medical Council of India. We G
felt that it was necessary to iron out these difficulties at a representa-
, live meeting and hence by an Order made on 16th September 1985, we
"---1 directed the Government of India, Ministry of Health to immediately
proceed to convene a meeting of the Deans of the Faculties of
' Medicine of various Universities in the country and the representatives
of the State Governments and of the Medical Council of India and the H
352 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11986) 3 S.C.R.
A Dental Council of India for the purpose of considering the scheme put
forward by the Medical Council of India and carrying out such modifi-
cations in the scheme as may be expedient and also, if necessary,
evolving a new scheme, so that the All-India Entrance Examination
both for the MBBS and BDS courses as also for the Post graduate
B courses is held in a manner which will cause the least amount of hard-
ship and inconvenience to the students and at the same time, imple-
ment the directions in our Judgment dated 22nd June 1984 as modified
by the subsequent judgment dated 1st May 1985. We also directed that +
this meeting shall be convened by the Ministry of Health, Government
+:-·
c
of India within one month and a detailed scheme for the All-India
Entrance Examination for the MBBS/BDS and Post Graduate courses
shall be submitted before the next date of hearing of the writ petitions.
We also gave a direction that "the meeting will ........... consider
-
whether the All-India Entrance Examination should be held by the
Medical Council of India or by any other appropriate authority or
body to be set up for that purpose" and "the meeting will evolve a
D common syllabus for the All-India Entrance Examination and will also
work out the financial aspects of holding an All-India Entrance Exami-
nation". The Government of India was directed to provide the neces-
sary finances for the purpose of holding the All-India Entrance
Examination.
E Pursuant to this direction given by us in our Order dated 16th
September 1985, a meeting was convened by the Ministry of Health,
Government of India for considering the scheme prepared by the
Medical Council of India for holding All-India Entrance Examination
for the MBBS/BDS and Post Graduate courses and this meeting was
attended by the Deans of Medical Faculties of various Universities,
F Health Secretaries of.various State Governments, the representatives
of the Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, National
Board of Examinations, National Academy of Medical Sciences and +
Central Board of Secondary Education and at this meeting the represen-
tatives of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Law were also
invited to express their opinion. The scheme submitted by the Medico!
G Council of India and circulated amongst various State Governments
and Deans of Medical Faculties and others was considered at length at
this meeting and in the light of the discussions held at the meeting, the
scheme was modified and redrafted and the scheme so modified and
redrafted was submitted by the Government of India to the Court for
acceptance along with a Memorandum setting out the revised scheme as
H Annexure III and pointing out certain difficulties set forth by some of
DINESH v. M.L.NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE [BHAGWATI, C.J.) 3 53
A
the participants. The learned counsel for various State Governments
appeared before the Court when the revised scheme was taken up for
consideration and they made their submissions pleading for certain
changes in the scheme. We shall proceed to consider these submissions
and deal with them.
B
The first objection raised on behalf of some of the State Govern-
ments was in regard to the language in which the All-India Entrance
Examination should be held for admission to minimum 30% non-
reserved seats for the MBBS/BDS course and minimum 50% non-
reserved seats for the post-graduate courses. The Medical Council of
India in the revised scheme suggested that the All-India Entrance
Examination should be held in the English language but it was con-
c
tended on behalf of some of the State Governments that it should be
held in the regional languages and some of the State Governments in
the Hindi belt submitted that an option should be given to the students
to answer the question papers either in English or in Hindi. We are
afraid we cannot accede to this suggestion made on behalf of some of D
the State Governments. We do not think that at the present stage it
would at all be practicable to hold the All-India Entrance Examination
in any language other than English. The medium of instruction in the
MBBS/BDS course as also in the post-graduate courses in all Medical
colleges and institutions in the country is English. The statutory regu-
lations of the Medical Council of India in regard to under-graduate E
medical education also prescribe that the medium of instruction for the
MBBS course shall be English. Moreover, there would be immense
practical and logistic difficulties in holding the All-India Entrance Ex-
amination in different regional languages which are many and varied
and if only Hindi is allowed as an alternative language in which the
All-India Entrance Examination may be held, there would be vehe- F
ment opposition from some of the States whose regional language is
'+
... ..,
other than Hindi and they would insist that the All-India Entrance
Examination should also be held in their respective regional lan-
guages. Of course, we do recognise that in order to strengthen the
unity and integrity of the country and promote mobility from one State
to another and to avoid creating a situation where an Indian from one G
State will be a stranger in another State it is necessary that there
should be one common language which should operate as a link lan-
guage and particularly men in public life, professionals, intellectuals,
academics and the like should know such link language and some day,
hopefully, with the consensus of the people, Hindi might become such
link language, but as the matter stands today since the medium of H
354 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986] 3 S.C.R.
A instruction in the MBBS/BDS course and post-graduate courses is in
English and the entire medical education is being imparted in the
English language throughout the country and it is not practically feasi-
ble to hold the All-India Entrance Examination in diverse regional
languages, we are of the view that for the present at least, the All-
B India Entrance Examination should be held in the English language.
We do not think that even for students who have passed the qualifying
examination with regional language as their medium of instruction
there would be any difficulty in facing the examination because they
are bound to have some knowledge of English as a language of com-
prehension for otherwise they would not be able to pursue the medical
course in English language and moreover the All-India Entrance Ex-
c amination being an objective test, it would not require close familiarity
with the English language.
Another objection raised on behalf of some of the State Govern-
ments and particularly the State of Tamil Nadu related to the following
D suggestion made in the Scheme submitted by the Government of
India:
"It was felt that the judgment of the Supreme Court by
which 30% of the open seats for admission to MBBSJBDS
courses \\ere \o be arrived at after taking into account the
E reservations validly made (whiqh term has not been
defined) provides enough scope to the State Governments
to increase the number of reserv~d categories, thereby con-
tributing lesser number of seats for being filled on All India
basis.''
f The objection raised by these State Governments was two-fold. Firstly,
it was contended that the suggestion that 15% of the total seats avail-
able for admission to MBBS/BDS course without taking into account
any reservations which may be made by the State Government, would
tend to produce inequality of opportunity for admission to students in
different States since the percentage of reservations varied from State
G to State and secondly, it was urged that the proposal of the Govern-
ment of India that valid reservations should not exceed 50% of the
total number of seats available for admission, will reduce the oppor-
tunities which were at present available to Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and backward classes as a result of reservations
exceeding 50% of the total seats made in some of the States and
H particularly in the State of Tamil Nadu where the reservations exceed
DINESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE IBHAGWATI, C.J.] 355
68%. We agree with the second objection raised on behalf of some of A
the State Governments but so far as the first objection is concerned,
we do not think it is well-founded. There can be no doubt that if in
each State, 30% of the seats were to be made available for admission
on the basis of All-India Entrance Examination after taking into ac-
count reservations validly made, the number of seats which would be B
available for admission on the basis of All-India Entrance Examina-
tion would vary inversely with the percentage of reservations validly
t) made in that State. If the percentage of reservations is high as in the
State of Tamil Nadu or the State of Karnataka, the number of seats
available for admission on the basis of All-India Entrance Examina-
tion would be relatively less than what would be in a State where the
percentage ofreservations is low. There would thus be total inequality c
in the matter of making available seats for admission on the basis of
AU-India Entrance Examination. It would be open to a State Govern-
ment to reduce the number of seats available for admission on the
basis of All-India Entrance Examination by increasing the number of
reserved categories or by increasing the percentage of reservations. D
We therefore agree with the Government of India that the formula
adopted by us in our main Judgment dated 22nd June 1984 for de-
termining the number of seats which should be made available for
admission on the basis of All-India Entrance Examination should be
changed. We would direct, in accordance with the suggestion made in
the Scheme by the Government of India, that not less tha" 15% of the E
total number of seats in each medical college or institution, without
taking into account any reservations validly made, shall be filled on the
basis of All-India Entrance Examination. This new formula is in our
opinion fair and just and brings about real equality of opportunity in
admissions to the MBBS/BDS course without placing the students in
one State in an advantageous or disadvantageous position as compared F
to the students in another State. The same formula must '<lpply also in
regard to admissions to the post-graduate courses and instead of mak-
ing available for admission on all-India basis 50% of the open seats
after taking into account reservations validly made, we would direct
that not less than 25% of the total number of seats without taking into
account any reservations, shall be made available for being filled on G
the basis of All-India Entrance Examination. This suggestion of the
Government of India deserves to be accepted. and the objection to it
· must be overruled.
But so far as the second objection is concerned, we think there is
merit in it. We do not think that it would be right for us to limit the H
356 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [19861 3 S.C.R.
A reservations which can be validly made by a State Government in the
matter of admission to the MBBS/BDS course and the post-graduate
courses to 50% of the tot' 1number of seats. There are some States like
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which have reservations far exceeding
50% in admissions to MBBS/BDS course and we do not propose to
B restrict such reservations to 50%. When we say that we do not propose
to limit the percentage of reservations to 50 as suggested by the
Government of India we should not be understood as laying down that
the State Government may make reservations to any extent it likes or
that the percentage of reservations can validly exceed 50 without vio-
lating any constitutional guarantees. We are not going into this ques-
tion because it does not directly arise for determination in this case. We
c may however point out that there is a consideral;Je body of opinion in
favour of the view that too large a percentage of reservations has the
effect of not only stifling the opportunities of really brilliant students
who do not belong to the reserved categories and creating a certain
amount of frustration leading to class antagonism but also prejudicially
D affecting the quality and efficiency of the medical services available to
people, particularly in the field of higher medical education such as the
post graduate courses. There is on the other hand an equally powerful
lobby which holds that reservations must be made in proportion to the
population of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward clas-
ses, because these classes of people have been subjected to oppression
E and exµloitation and have been deprived of all opportunities of educa-
tion and advancement since a long time· and unless reservations are
made in their favour and they are given proper opportunities by a
process of reverse discrimination, they will never be able to take their
place in society on an equal footing with others and it is only by wiping
out in justice which has been done to them for long long years, by
F making reservations in their favour that we shall be able to build a
truly egalitarian society. It is the firm belief of those who propound
this view that the theory that reservations carried beyond a certain
limit affect the quality and efficiency of the medical services is nothing
but an elitist myth which is put forward in order to perpetuate the
vested interest~. These rival arguments raise an interesting question of
G social policy which may have to be decided by this Court at some
future point of time but we do not think that in the context of the
present case it would be right for us to enter upon a consideration of
this question.
The next question raised on behalf of some of the State Govern- 4
H ments was that since the States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & ,
D!NESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE [BHAGWATI. C.J.] 357
Kashmir have been exempted from the operation of the main J udg- A
ment dated 22nd June 1984 and these two States would not be liable to
set apart seats for admission on the basis of All India Entrance Exami-
nation and students from other States would not be entiled to compete
for admission to the MBBS/BDS and post graduate courses in the
medical colleges and institutions in these two States, the students from B
these two States should likewise not be entitled to appear in the All
India Entrance Examinattion held for admission to t!J.e MBBS/BDS
course and post graduate courses in the other States. Otherwise the
result would be that the students from these two States would have an
advantage over the students from other States, because they would
have all the seats in the medical colleges and institutions in their own
State available to them for admission without sharing even a few seats c
with students from other States and in addition, they would be en-
titled, on the basis of All India Entrance Examination, to secure ad-
mission to seats in the medical colleges and institutions in the other
States whereas the students from the other States would not be en-
titled to the opportunity to secure admission in the medical colleges D
and institutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir
and this would clearly amount to denial of equality of opportunity.
There is in our opinion great force in this contention. If the students
from the other States are not entitled to compete for admission to the
medical colleges and institutions in the States of Andhra Pradesh and
J ammu & Kashmir, it would clearly be inequitous to allow the students E
from the States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir to compete
for admission in the medical colleges and institutions of the other
States. The lack of reciprocity would plainly and inevitably result in
inequity and giving of undue advantage to students from the States of
Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir as against the students from
the States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir should not be F
entitled to appear in the All India Entrance Examination, unless the
States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir agree to make not
less than 15% of the total number of seats for the MBBS/BDS course
and not less than 25% of the total number of seats for the post
graduate courses in their respective medical colleges or institutions
available for admission on the basis of All India Entrance Exami-
nation. ... G
,;.i.111'
The question then raised was in regard to the syllabus for the All
India Entrance Examination. The syllabus as framed by the Medical
Council of Ind;a was circulated amongst the various authorities and
ultimately it was finalised at the meeting convened by the Ministry of H
358 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986] 3 S.C.R.
A Health, Government of India as directed by our Order dated 16th
September 1985. Though the participants in the meeting were
requested to send their comments in regard to the syllabus within 10
days for the consideration of the Government of India, no State except
Maharashtra sent its comments. The comments offered by the State of
B Maharashtra were duly considered but since the alterations in the
syllabus suggested by the State of Maharashtra were too many, it was
decided to retain the syllabus as formulated. We approve of this syl-
labus since it has been accepted by the Medical Council of India, the
Government of India and all the State Government except the State of
Maharashtra which also did not make any submissions to the Court at
the hearing of this case. Since as a result of the direction given by us on
c 2nd May 1986 our judgment dated 22nd June 1984 is going to be
operative only with effect from the academic year commencing in 1987
and the first All India Entrance Examination for admission to the
MBBS/BDS .:nurse would be held only in June 1987, we would request
the Education Department of each State as also the Board of Secon-
D dary and/or Higher Secondary Education in each State to take note of
this syllabus which we have approved for the All India Entrance
Examination and to suitably amend its syllabus or course for the 12th
year so as to bring it in line with the syllabus approved by us so that the
students passing the qualifying examination of the 12th year may be
properly equipped to face the All-India Entrance Examination. It
E would be desirable if a common syllabus is adopted at +2 level
throughout the country so that there may be uniformity in the educa-
tional pattern and the students in various States may be able to appear
in the All-India Entrance Examination on a footing of equality without
any undue advantage to one as against the other.
F Thea there were a few other questions raised in regard to the
holding of the AH-India Entrance Examination. The first question was
as to which should be the agency for holding the All-India Entrance
Examination. The Government of India pointed out in its Memo-
randum that the consensus at the meeting was that the holding of the
All-India Entrance Examination for admission to the MBBS/BDS
G course should be entrusted to the Medical Council of India but so far
as its own view was concerned, it clearly and categorically expressed its
opinion that "considering the fact that the Medical Council of India
has not conducted examination of this nature in the past and that the
number of candidates appearing in this examination would be quite
large, the Government feel that the Central Board of Secondary Edu-4
H cation which is already holding a national level examination at + 2 "I
DINESH v. M.L.NEHRUMEDJCALCOLLEGE [BHAGWATI.C.J.] 359
stage would be the moo: suitable Organisation". The Medical Council A
of India, on the other hand, strongly pleaded that it was the most
appropriate agency to which the holding of the All-India Entrance
Examination should be entrusted. We agree with the Government of
India that the All-India Entrance Examination for MBBS/BDS course
should not be allowed to be held by the Medical Council of India. The B
Medical Council of India has a supervising and auditing function and it
is charged with the duty of ensuring that proper standards of medical
education are maintained. The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956
under which the Medical Council of India isconstituted does not con-
template holding of any such entrance Examination by the Medical
Council of India at the under-graduate level. Moreover, the Medical
Council of India has no experience of holding an entrance examination c
of such large magnitude and we are not at all sure whether it has the
necessary infrastructure for doing so. It may also be noted that the
number of students appearing in the AU-India Entrance Examination
would be enormously large and it is doubtful whether t'1e Medical
Council of India would be able to handle such an entrance Examina- D
tion. It is undoubtedly true that it was not the Medical Council oflndia
which took the initiative in suggesting that it should be allowed to hold
the All-India Entrance Examination. It was the Court which requested
the Medical Council of India to come forward with a scheme for hold-
ing an All-India Entrance Examination. We are indeed grateful to the
Medical Council of India for having extended its fullest cooperation to E
the Court but we do feel that so far as the All-India Entrance Exami-
nation for aqmission to the MBBS/BDS course is concerned, it would
not be appropriate to entrust the holding of such entrance Examina-
tion to the Medical Council of lndia. The question then is to which
body should the holding of this Examination be entrusted. We are of
the view that the Central Board of Secondary Education which has not F
only the infrastructure but also the experience of holding an All-India
Examination for the 12th year would be the most appropriate agency
to hold the All-India Entrance Examination for admission to MBBS/
BOS course. The argument of the Medical Council of India against
entrusting the holding of this Examination to the Central Board of
Secondary Education was that "there is great variation in the standard G
of examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Educa-
tion". But his argument is without force since the examination is ~oing
to be an objective test where the subjective element which might lead
to varitations in the standard of examination would be eliminated. We
would therefore direct the Central Board of Secondary Education to
hold the All India Entrance Examination for admission to the MBBS/ H
360 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986] 3 S.C.R.
A
BDS course. The Government of India will provide the necessary
finances for holding such examination.
So far as the All India Entrance Examination for post graduate
B courses is concerned, the holding of such examination may appro-
priately be entrusted to the All India lnstitute of Medical Sciences.
Though it was the general consensus at the meeting convened by the
Ministry of Health, Government of India, pursuant to our Order dated
16th September 1985 that the Medical Council of India should be
entrusted with the task of holding such examination, there was some
opposition to this proposal from a few of the participants. We agree
c with these participants that the holding of this examination should not
be entrusted to the Medical Council of India. When we say this, we do
not for a moment wish to cast any reflection on the Medical Council of
India. In fact, the Medical Council of India has been extremely helpful
in taking the initiative to work out the modalities of the All India
D Entrance Examination and we reiterate that we are extremely grateful
to the Medical Council of India for the great assistance which they
have given to the Court. But, we do not think that the Medical Council
of India would be the appropriate agency for holding such examina-
tion. It has neither the infra-structure nor the experience for conduct-
ing such examination and, moreover, it is a supervisory or auditing
E body and we would not like it to be saddled with the onerous responsi-
bility of holding such examination. Besides, if the two functions are in
the hands of the same body supervision and auditing may not be effec-
tive. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, on the other hand,
has been holding Entrance Examination every year where students
from all over the country compete for admission and it has the neces-
F sary infrastructure as well as expertise for holding such examination.
We are informed that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is
quite willing to undertake this task if the Government of India makes
available the necessary facilities including proper funding. We would,
therefore, direct the Government of India to arrange for the conduct
of the All India Entrance Examination for post-graduate courses by
G the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and to provide the neces-
sary facilities and finance which may be required by the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences for the purpose of holding such examina-
tion. If, for any reason, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is
not prepared to undertake the task of conducting such examination,
then and in that event only, the Government of India may entrustthis 1lllll
H task to the Medical Council of India. -,
1I
DINESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLIEGE [BHAGWATI, C.J .] 361
We may point out that in our opinion it would be ideal to set up A
in due course an independent statutory body which will conduct the
All India Entrance Examinations both for the MBBS/BDS course and
the post-graduate courses. That would be eminently desirable but until
such a statutory body is set up, the All-India Entrance Examination
for MBBS/BDS course shall be held by the Central Board of Secon- B
dary Education and the All India Entrance Examination for ihe post
graduate courses shall be held by the All India Institute of Medical
t Sciences or the Medical Council of India, as the case may be.
There are a few other matters in regard to the scheme of the All
India Entrance Examinations which we should like to clarify and the
scheme submitted by the Government of India along with its Memo- c
randum will have to be read subject to the modifications which we
have already discussed in the p!eceding paragraphs of this Judgment as
also the modifications which we are now proceeding to discuss.
(I) In the first place, the scheme has necessarily to be con- D
fined to medical colleges or institutions run by the Union of
India or a State Government or a Municipal or other local
Authority. It cannot apply to private medical colleges or
institutions unless they are instrumentality or agency of
the State or opt to join the scheme by making 15% of the
total number of seats for the MBBS/BDS course and 25% E
of the total number of seats for the post-graduate courses,
available for admission on the basis of All India Entrance
Examination. Those medical colleges or institutions which
we have already excepted from the operation of the judg-
ment dated 22nd June 1984 will continue to remain outside
the scope of the scheme. F
(2) Secondly, the All India Entrance Examination for the
MBBS/BDS course shall be held once in a year for the
MBBS/BDS course which may commence at any time bet-
ween 15th July and Isl August each year. The dates indi-
cated in paragraph 14 of the scheme of All India Entrance G
Examination for MBBS/BDS course are quite in order but
we would add one more date, namely, that the result of the
All India Entrance Examination shall be declared some
~
time between 15th and 20th June. A list of successful candi-
dates shall be prepared in order of merit and it shall com-
prise the names of as many students as the number of vac- H
'
362 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986) 3 S.C.R.
A ant seats available for admission plus 10% more and there
shall also be a waiting list as indicated in paragraph 8 of the
scheme. There shall also be an interval of time of at least
three weeks between the date of publication of the list and
the date of admission to the medical colleges or institutions
B covered by the scheme. We would like to make it clear that
students shall be entitled to appear at the All India Entr-
ance Examination even if the result of the qualifying ex-
amination has not yet been declared, provided they have
appeared at the qualifying examination but they cannot be
admitted to the MBBS/BDS course unless they have passed
the qualifying examination. While accommodating the stu-
c dents according to the preference given by them, utmost
care shall be taken to see that in priority over male stu-
dents, female students are accommodated near their place
of residence, because it is difficult for female students to go
to a medical college or institution outside the place of their
D residence, particularly since there is lack of proper hostel
facilities for female students at most of the places. The
Bulletin of Information referred to in paragraph 14 of the
Scheme shall be made available to the students by 1st
February of each year commencing from 1987.
E (3) Thirdly, so far as the All In\lia Entrance Examination
for the post graduate courses is concerned we are of the
view that there should be only one examination in a year as
suggested by the Government of India in the Scheme sub-
mitted by it. But we are of the view that it would not be
right to insist that a student should not be eligible for
F appearing at this examination unless he has completed
compulsory rotating internship/practical training prog-
ramme and obtained registration from the Medical Council
of India or any of the State Medical Councils. That would
greatly inconvenience the students. The final MBBS Ex-
amination is normally held in October/November each year
G and thereafter every student has to undergo compulsory
rotating internship/practical training for a period of one
year and then only he can· be awarded MBBS Degree and
he can obtain registration from the Medical Council of In-
dia or a State Medical Council. If therefore it is provided
that a student shall be eligible to appear at the All India
H Entrance Examination only after he has acquired MBBS
DINESH v. M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE (BHAGWATI, C.J.] 363
Degree and obtained registration, it would mean that he A
would be able to appear at such examination only after a
lapse of about one year from the date of his passing MBBS
Examination. He would have to start preparing again for
appearing at the All India Entrance Examination after a
break of one year which is bound to cause a certain amount B
of hardship and inconvenience. It would be better in our
view if a student is allowed to appear at the All India Entr-
t -ance Examination after the result of the MBBS Examina-
tion is announced and he is declared to have passed MBBS
Examination, because at that date the theoretical part of
the syllabus would be fresh in his mind and it would save
him the trouble of reading the entire course over again c
after a period of one year. We would, therefore, direct that
the tentative programme for the All India Entrance Exami-
nation set out in clause 13 of the Scheme of examination for
admission to postgraduate courses should be modified and
the_ modified programme should be as follows: D
(i) By post -10th January
(ii) From cash counter -:- 20th January
Last date for receiving -31st January
application forms E
Competitive test - Middle of March
- Result to be declared --First week of May
Every student who has passed his MBBS Examination shall
be eligible for appearing at this examination even though F
he has not completed his compulsory rotating internship/
r -+ practical training, but he shall not be entitled to be admit-
ted to the post-graduate course until he has completed such
internship or practical training and obtained registration
either from the Medical Council of India or a State Medical
Council. On this view, so far as admissions to post- G
graduate courses are concerned, it may not be possible to
give effect to our Judgment dated 22nd June 1984, until the
•
academic year commencing in 1988. The students seeking
admission to post-graduate courses for the academic year
commencing in 1987 would be those who have completed
their compulsory rotating internship/practical training in H
364 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11986] 3 S.C.R.
A November/December 1986 and now to require them, after
a break of one year, to prepare again for appearing at the
All India Entrance Examination would cause considerable
hardship and inconvenience. Admissions to post-graduate
courses for the academic year commencing in 1987 may
B therefore be given on the basis that our Judgment dated
22nd June 1984 does not govern such admissions. But an
All India Entrance Examination would have to be held in
1987 for the students who would be passing MBBS Exami-
nation in the end of 1986 and who would be completing
their compulsory rotating internship/practical training in
the end of 1987 and seeking admission to post graduate
c courses for the academic year commencing in 1988. We
must of course make it clear that it would be open to a
student to appear at the All India Entrance Examination
even after he has completed his compulsory rotating in-
ternship/practical training and he would be entitled to com-
D pete for admission to post-graduate courses for the
academic year immediately following the completion of his
internsfiip or practical training. We would also like to add
that though we have prescribed this programme for holding
the All India Entrance Examination for admission to post-
graduate courses, if any difficulty is found in following this
E programme, it would be open to the Government of India
to alter it in such manner as it thinks fit after consultation
with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Medi-
cal Council of India. We are leaving a certain measure of
latitude to the Government of India because it is possible
that some difficulties may be encountered in implementa-
F tion of this programme which we have not been able to
anticipate and foresee.
+
{4) The Government of India has suggested in the Scheme
of examination for admission to post-graduate courses that
a weightage equivalent to 15 % of the total marks obtained
G by a student at the All India Entrance Examination should
be given if he has put in a minimum of three years of rural
service. It is, of course, eminently desirable that some in-
centive should be given to our doctors to go to the rural
areas because there is concentration of doctors in the urban
areas and the rural areas appear to. be neglected. But we do
H not think that such incentive should go to the length of
D.K. ''· M.L. NEHRU MEDICAL COLLEGE [BHAGWATI, C.J.[ 365
giving a weightage of 15% of the total marks obtained by a A
candidate. There are several reasons why our doctors are
persuaded to go to the rural areas in order to serve the
rural masses who are badly in need of medical assistance.
Some of the reasons are attraction of urban life, the
prospect of building up a lucrative practice which may be B
possible only in urban cities, lack of proper facilities and
+, inadequate supply of necessary medicines and above all
absence of social commitment and lack of desire to serve
the poor arid the disadvantaged . These are some of the
- difficulties which have to be overcome if we want doctors
to move to the rural areas. We do not think that by merely
offering a weightage of 15% to a doctor for three years
rural servke we shall be able to bring about a migration of
c
doctors from the urban to the rural areas. We are of the
view that when selection of candidates is being made for
admission on an All-India basis, no factor other than merit
should be allowed to tilt the balance in favour of a candi- D
date. We must remember that what we are regulating are
admissions to post-graduate courses and if we want to pro-
duce doctors who are M.D. or M.S., particularly Surgeons
who are going to operate upon human beings, it is of the
utmost importance that the selection should be based on
merit. Moreover, y;e are extremely doubtful if a candidate E
who has rendered three years rural service for the purpose
of getting a weightage of 15 % would go back to the rural
- area after he has got M.D. or M.S. Degree. We are, there-
fore, of the view that no weightage should be given to a
candidate for rural service rendered by him so far as admis-
sions to post-graduate courses are concerned. Even if an F
undertaking is taken from such a candidate that after ob-
taining M.D. or M.S. Degree he will 'settle-down in a rural
•/
area and serve the rural masses, it would in all probability
serve no useful purpose because in the absence of the re-
quisite facilities such as hospital, medical and surgical
equipment, nursing etc. It would not be possible for him to G
give the advantage of his higher medical education to the
rural masses and the higher medical education received by
him would not be of service to the community.
The schemes of examination for admission to MBBS/BDS course
and post-graduate courses submitted by the Government of India as H
366 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1986] 3 S.C.R.
A ,. .
Annexure III to its memorandum are therefore approved by us, sub-
ject to the various modifications discussed and formulated in this Judg-
ment. We would direct the Government of India to revise these
schemes in accordance with the modifications directed in this Judg-
ment and to submit such revised schemes to this Court within two
B weeks from today. The Government of India will supply copies of the
revised schemes to the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the
State Governments, the Medical Council of India and the Bombay
University so that, if the revised schemes are not in accordance with
the directions given by us in this Judgment in any respect, they may be
c
able to point out such discrepancies in the revised schemes.
Before we part with this Judgment we would like to make it clear
that this Judgment given by us should not be construed as in any
-
manner prejudicing or affecting or detracting from any rule, regulation
or other provision entitling students from other States including the
States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir to be considered for
D admission to the remaining 85% and 75% seats for the MBBS/BDS
course and post-graduate courses respectively. We would also like the
Government of India to consider whether it would not be desirable to
set up Regional Institutes of Medical Sciences where admission would
be open to students from all over the country and where a high
standard of excellence would be maintained. If such Regional Insti-
E tutes of Medical Sciences are set up providing opportunity to students
from all over the country to compete for admission on the basis of
merit, it may become unnecessary to reserve 15% of the total number
of seats for admission to the MBBS/BDS course and 25% of the total
number of seats for admission to post graduate courses in each medical
college or institution on the basis of All India Entrance Examination. .f
-
F
The writ petitions will now come up for hearing on 4th August +
1986 for confinmation of the revised schemes prepared by the Govern-
ment of India in accordance with the directions given in this Judgment.
P.S.S.
G
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