DIWAKAR SHRIVASTAVA AND ORS.versusSTATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND ORS.

     792



A                   DIW AKAR SHRIVAST A VA AND ORS.
                                             v.
                 STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND ORS.

                                      February 2, 1984

                 [0. CHINNAPPA RBDDY, E. s. VENKATARAMIAH AND
B
                             R. B. MISRA, JJ.] ·

            Civil Procedure-Persons likely to be affeccttd must be impleaded as partit!s,
            Natural Justice-Applicabilily of,

            The appellants questioned the relaxation granted to candidates belonging
      to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in regard to the minimum qualifying
C     marks for admission into the medical coUeges without properly impleading the
      persons who were likely to be affected if the sumissions of the appe'llants were
      accepted.

            Dismissing the appeals,

             HELD : Rules of natural justice apply as much to proceedings in courts
      of law as to proceedings before authorities elsewhere. It may be that where a
D.
                                        a
      general question is involved and large number of rersons are concerned, the
      court may, in appropriate cases, permit a few of then1 to be sued in a represen·
      tative·capicity or may consider them as sufficienily represented by a few who
      have been properly impleaded as parties. [793F-GJ

             'In the instant case no effort bas been made to implead any person likely
      to be affected as a party to the proceedings. The question of the legality or
      validity of the relaxation granted in their favour cannot possibly be decided in
E     their absence. [7930 ; F]                      '

           CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICITION : Civil Appeal Nos. 6407 -6408
      of 1983.                 ·
                                                                     '
             Appeals by Special leave from the Judgment and Order doted
      the 17th March, 1983 of the Madhya Pradesh High Caurt in Misc.
      Petition Nos. 1232 andll604 of 1982.
F
                                            WITH

                       Civil Appeal Nos. 8201-04 of 1983.

            Appeals by Special leave from the Judgment and Order dated
      the 22nd August, 1983 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc,
G     Petitions Nos. 1876, 1908, 1909 and 1976 of 1983,
          D. SHRIVASTAVA v. M.P. STATE (Chinnappa Reddy, J.)       793

                                   AND                                        A
                    Civil Appeal No. 8200 of 1983.

      Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and Order dated
the 6th September, 1983 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in
Misc. Petition No. 2140 of 1983.
                                                                              B
      ,:,hiv Dayal, G. L. Sanghi, Mukul Mudgal and J. P. Sanghi for
the Appellants.

      A. K. Sanghi_, S. R. Agawala and V. K Chitre for the Respon-
 dents.
      C. L. Sahu for the Intervener Madanlal.
                                                                          c
      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

       Cu1NNAPPA REDDY, J. The appellants in the several appeals
 before us question th' relaxation granted· to candidates belonging to
 the Scheduled Castes and t)le Scheduled Tribes in regard to the          D
 minimum qualifying marks for admission into the medical colleges
 of the State of Madhya Pradesh. We are afraid we have to throw
 out these appeals on the preliminary ground that the persons likely
to be affected if we agree with the submissions made on behalf of
the appellants, that is, the candidates belonging tot he Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes who have secured admission into           E
the medical colleges as a result of the relaxation granted to them
have not been brought before us by being properly impleaded as
parties. We fail to see how the question of the legality or validity of
the reb.xation granted in their favour can possibly be dedded in their
absence. Rules of natural justice apply as much to proceedings in
courts of law as to proceedings before authorities elsewhere. It          F
may be that where a general question is involved and a large num-
ber of persons are .concerned, the court may, in appropr_iate cases,
permit a few of them to be sued in a representative capacity ,or
may· consider them as sufficiently represented by a few who have
been properly impleaded as parties. That is not the situation here.
No effort has been made to implead any person likely to be affected       G
as a party to the proceeding. All the appeals are liable to be dismis-
sed on this short ground.

      The learned counsel for the appellants urged that some seats
reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which
have not been filled' on account of non-availability of candidates        H
    794              . SUPREME COURT REPORTS                (1984] 2 '.C.R.

A    have to be transferred to the general category under the. rules and
     are, therefore, available for candidates coming under the general
     category. The counsel for the appellants suggests that the several
     appellants may be accommodated against these vacancies and
      directed to be admitted into one or other of the medical colleges.
      So far as admission to medical colleges for the year 1982-83 is
      concerned, it is stated in the additional counter-affidavit filed on
B     behalf of the first respondont that ail the seats including those
      transferred from the reserved category to the general cotegory have
      been filled and there are no more vacancies. It .is, therefore, un·
      necessery to give any direction in Civil Appeal Nos. 6407 and 6408
    . which relate to the year 1982-83. The other appeals relate to admis-
      sions during the year !983-84. In these cases, we have no definite
      information as to the number of vac~ncies available. Even if there
      are a large number of vacancies, we cannot give any direction to
c      admit the appellants against those vacancies since we are not in a
      position to say that appellants are the best candidates from the
       general category. All that we can do is to say that if on account of
       non-availabity of candidates from the Scheduled Castes and the
       Scheduled Tribes, there are any vacancies which are required to be
       transferred to tho general category under the rules, such vacancies
       may be filled up from the general category on the basis of merit. We
       do not have any doubt that this will be done. Subject to this
D      direction, the appeals are dismissed.




      H.S.K.                                              Appeals disrnssed.




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