Kerala High Court: Considering the acute shortage of specialities in State of Kerala, a bench comprising of A.M. Mustaque, J dismissed the petition and upheld the constitutionality of the fixation of 50% seats for the Keralite candidates by the Government as a source of admission at Super Speciality level in medical/P.G. Super Speciality Course, 2014 on the ground of genuineness and reasonable cause.
The Counsel for the petitioner, M.S. Purushothaman alleged that reservation based on domicile is unconstitutional in Super Speciality, and the candidates who are eligible and have appeared in the entrance examination cannot be denied admission on the basis of said reservation.
The Court observed that the concept of reservation and fixation of quota differ drastically in their purport. The reservation is generally a measure of relaxing norms in order to benefit a class on account of its status; however classification without any relaxation of norm is not traceable under Article 15 (4) of the Constitution. The Court stated that classification provides separate channel of admission in order to promote State interest, however there must be reasonable nexus between the classification and the object sought to be achieved. As long as there is a nexus between the basis of classification and the object sought to be achieved, the classification is valid.
The Court noted that in the present case no relaxation of marks have been provided for candidates of Kerala origin. They have to compete equally with other candidates. They are required to satisfy the minimum qualification prescribed in the Regulation by Medical Council of India. Therefore, in the absence of compromise on merits of the candidates, the classification for admission by separate source based on intelligible criteria is justified. The Court upheld the constitutionality of the fixation of 50% seats and concluded that any classification has to be tested for the reasonableness on the anvil of the National interest and that the State can be permitted to fix only a reasonable quota not exceeding 50% to promote its own interest. Dr. Nitin Aggarwal v. State of Kerala, W.P. (C) No. 19532 of 2014, decided on
