Rudraansh Kaler And Others vs Union Of India And Others
- Court
- Punjab and Haryana High Court
-1-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
IN
N THE HIGH COURT OF PUN
NJAB AND HARYANA AT
GARH
CHANDIG
125+221
CWP-35096-2026 (O&M)
Reserved
on
Whether only the
operative part of
the judgment is
pronounced
Pronounced Uploaded
on on
Whether
full judg
is pronou
the
gment
unced
13.10.202
6 04.11.2026 04.11.2026
No Yes
...PETITIONERS
RUDRAA
ANSH KALER AND OTHERS
VERSUS
OF INDIA AND OTHERS
UNION O
...RESPONDENTS
CORAM:
: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S
SUVIR SEHGAL
RAJESH GAUR
R
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE
Present:
Mr. Amar Vivek Aggarwal, A
Mr. Karanjeet Singh, Advocat
Mr. Kunal Patial, Advocate an
Ms. Upasna Devi, Advocate
for the petitioners.
Ms. Shalini Atri, Advocate/Sr
for respondent No.1-UOI.
Advocate,
te,
nd
SUVIR SE
r. Panel Counsel,
Mr. Sumeet Jain, Additional S
Mr. Dhruv Walia, Junior Pane
for respondents No.2 to 6-U.T
Standing Counsel, and
el Counsel,
T.
*
EHGAL, J.
1.
Petitioners have invoked the e
extraordinary writ jurisdiction of
this
Court und
der Article 226 of the Constitution
n of India, inter alia , challenging
the
eligibility
conditions incorporated in the p
prospectus for admission to MD/
MS
Courses (
(Session 2026), Annexure P-4, i
issued by the Government Med
ical
College a
and Hospital, Sector 32, Chan
ndigarh, insofar as the benefit
of
reservation
n under the Scheduled Caste (S
SC) category has been restricted
SHEETAL d to
2026.11.04 18:18
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
-2-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
candidates
s possessing a “ bona fide ”, sched
duled caste certificate issued by
the
competent
t authority of UT Chandigarh, in t
the prescribed format.
2.
Petitioners claim to be residen
nts of Chandigarh and belong to
SC
category
notified by UT Chandigarh. T
They assert that they possess
the
scheduled
d caste certificates issued by the
e competent authority and that t
hey
have com
mpleted their MBBS course from
m GMCH, Chandigarh. Petition
ners
claim to h
have cleared the NEET (PG-2022)
) examination under the SC catego
ory.
Prospectu
s, Annexure P-4, for admission
to MD/MS Courses (Session 20
026)
was issue
ed by GMCH, Chandigarh. P
Petitioners are aggrieved with
the
introductio
on of the requirement of a “
“bona fide” SC certificate in
the
prospectus
s, Annexure P-4, which, accordi
ing to them, would deprive them
m of
considerat
tion against the seats reserved
for SC candidates under the S
tate
quota.
3.
Upon notice, writ petition
has been contested by GM
MCH
Chandigar
rh, respondent No.6 by filing a
a reply by way of affidavit of
Dr.
Ravneet K
Kaur, Director Principal, primaril
ly placing reliance upon Article 3
341
of the Con
nstitution of India to submit that b
benefit of reservation in SC categ
gory
is restricte
ed to the original State or UT. It h
has been stated that upon migratio
n, a
person do
es not lose his/her SC status in th
he State/UT of origin, however, s
uch
UT.
status and
d reservation benefit cannot be
carried to the migrated State/U
Reliance h
has been placed upon the judgmen
nts of the Hon’ble Supreme Cour
rt in
Action Co
ommittee Versus Union of India
and another (1994) 5 SCC 244
and
Ranjana K
Kumari Versus State of Uttarakh
hand and others (2019) 15 SCC 6
664 .
Reference
e has also been made to various in
nstructions issued by the Governm
ment
of India c
oncerning the territorial applicab
bility of the SC status. It is the st
and
of the resp
pondents that admission against t
the reserved seats must be regula
ated
SHEETAL
2026.11.04 18:18
and
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
strictly in
accordance with the prospectus
governing the academic session
-3-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
practice fo
ollowed in the previous academic
c sessions when the provisions in
the
prospectus
s were different, cannot govern
admissions to the current academ
mic
session.
4.
We have heard counsel for th
he parties and examined the relev
vant
provisions
s of the prospectus as well as the j
judicial precedents cited at the bar
r.
5.
Legal position regarding the
e binding nature of a prospectus
s in
matters of
f admission to educational instit
tutions is no longer res integra .
. In
Amardeep
p Singh Sahota Versus State of P
Punjab 1993 (2) PLR 212, Raj Sin
ngh
Versus M
Maharishi Dayanand University
y 1994 (4) RSJ 289 , and Ra
ahul
Prabhaka
ar Versus Punjab Technical Uni
iversity, Jalandhar and others 19
997
(3) SCT 5
526 , Full Benches of this Court ha
ave consistently held that conditi
ions
laid down
n in an admission prospectus are
binding upon the candidates as w
well
as the ad
dmitting authority and that the
admission process must be stric
ctly
governed
by the conditions mentioned in
n the prospectus. This principle
has
been reiter
rated in Indu Gupta Versus Dire
ector of Sports, Punjab, Chandig
garh
and anoth
her 1999 (4) SCT 113 . More re
ecently, Hon’ble Supreme Court
t in
Adarsh D
Dinkar Sontakke (minor) and o
others Versus Navodaya Vidyal
laya
Samiti an
nd others Law Finder Doc ID # 2
2961508 has held that an educatio
onal
institution
n cannot introduce an additional e
eligibility condition, which does
not
find menti
ion in the governing prospectus, p
particularly after the commencem
ment
of the adm
mission process.
6.
In Japuji Kaur Bains V
Versus The Union Territory
of
Chandiga
arh and others Law Finder Doc
c. ID #2982538 , while consider
ring
admission
n to the MBBS course for the ac
cademic session 2026-27, this Co
ourt
reiterated
that prospectus constitutes the d
declared norm regulating eligibil
lity,
scrutiny, p
preparation of merit and admiss
sion. It was held that an admitt
ting
SHEETAL
2026.11.04 18:18
the
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
authority
cannot alter the prescribed crite
eria after the commencement of
-4-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
admission
n process. Consequently, responde
ents were directed to prepare a fr
resh
merit list o
of SC candidates strictly in accor
rdance with the eligibility conditi
ions
mentioned
d in the prospectus governing the
e admission process. It is, howev
ver,
pertinent t
to notice that the prospectus con
nsidered in Japuji Kaur Bains’ c
case
(supra) d
did not contain an express restr
riction concerning “ bona fide ”
SC
certificate
s, whereas the prospectus, Ann
nexure P-4, governing the pres
sent
MD/MS a
admissions expressly incorporate
es such a requirement. Neverthel
less
the princi
iple enunciated in the aforesaid
d judgment, viz, that the admiss
sion
process sh
hould be governed by the eligibilit
ty criteria contained in the applica
able
prospectus
s and that the admitting authority
y cannot travel beyond the prescri
bed
of the present case.
conditions
s, is equally attracted to the facts o
7.
It is apposite to notice and
reproduce hereunder, the relev
vant
conditions
s laid down in the prospectus, An
nnexure P-4, regulating admission
n to
MD/MS C
Courses (Session 2026):
“ B. Seats reserv
1. 15% seats ar
Castes (SC) candidates
2. Only those Sch
have obtained Bonafide
shall be eligible to appl
3. To be eligible
claimed his/her eligibi
for NEET (PG)-2026 ex
XXXXXXXX
PG-4: Admission for S
Seats:
XXXXXXXX
B. Seats reserved for B
The eligibility criteria f
as below:
1. 15% seats ar
Caste (SC) candidates.
2. Candidate m
for SC category whil
examination.
3. Only those Sc
have obtained Bonafide
shall be eligible to appl
ved for Bonafide SC candidates
re reserved for Bonafide Schedu
s.
uled
heduled Castes (SC) candidates w
e SC certificate from UT Chandig
who
garh
ly against these seats. (Appendix-
e for SC seats, Candidate must h
ility for SC category while apply
-I)
have
ying
xamination.
State Quota seats 76 + 4 (EWS) =
= 80
Bonafide Scheduled Castes (S.C.)
for SC Category for State Quota
are
re reserved for Bonafide Schedu
uled
ust have claimed his/her eligibi
le applying for NEET (PG)-20
ility
026
cheduled Caste (SC) candidates w
who
garh
e SC certificate from UT Chandig
ly against these seats.”
SHEETAL
2026.11.04 18:18
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
-5-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
8.
SC certificate to be submitted
d along with the application, has b
been
provided i
in Appendix-I, which also deserv
ves to be noticed and is reprodu
uced
here under
r:-
“Appendix-
-I
Logo
FORMAT OF SCHEDULED CA
CASTE CERTIFICATE QR scan co
ode
(Bonafide)
Certificate
No.:
Date:
This is to
certify that Mr./Ms. .....................
............................ son/daughter of S
Shri
_________
____________ and Smt. ________
_____________ resident of (comp
plete
address) __
___________________ belongs to the
e ____________________ caste whic
ch is
recognized
as "SCHEDULED CASTE", under
r "The Constitution (Scheduled Cas
stes)
[(Union Te
rritories)] Order, 1951."
_________
____________ and his/her
family ordinarily reside(s)
at
_________
____________.
This Certif
ficate has been issued on the basis
s of verification made by the Tehsil
ldar
(Revenue),
U.T., Chandigarh vide his repo
rt dated ____________________
and
Scheduled
Caste Certificate issued to his/her f
father vide No. _________________
____
dated: ____
_________________.
SUB DIVISIONAL MAGISTRATE
E
U.T. Chandigarh”
”
9.
A perusal of the above reprod
duced Clauses B as well as PG-4
(B)
of the pro
ospectus show that they prescrib
be the conditions for considerat
tion
against res
served seats. One of the condition
ns is that the SC candidate must h
have
obtained a
a bona fide SC certificate from
U.T., Chandigarh, in the prescrib
bed
format of
the SC certificate (Appendix-I) fr
rom the designated authority. Inso
ofar
as this eli
gibility condition is concerned, i
it deserves to be specifically noti
iced
that there
is no requirement in the prospe
ectus that a candidate must estab
lish
SHEETAL
2026.11.04 18:18
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
that his/he
er father or forefathers were re
esiding in Chandigarh on or bef
fore
-6-
096-2026 (O&M)
CWP-350
01.11.196
6. The stand of the respondents
that government instructions da
ated
22.02.201
8 have to be read into the prospe
ectus and form an integral part of
f the
prospectus
s, cannot be accepted. Respo
ondents cannot alter the origi
inal
prospectus
s and introduce a new eligibility
y condition. The above reprodu
uced
provisions
s of the prospectus constitute the
governing criteria for preparation
n of
merit list f
for admission to MD/MS Course
es for the Session 2026. Responde
ents
are, there
efore, obligated to apply these
conditions uniformly and stric
ctly,
without in
ntroducing any additional eligibilit
ty requirement.
10.
In view of the foregoing disc
cussion and without expressing
any
opinion o
n the individual eligibility of th
he petitioners or other candidates
s, a
direction i
is issued to the respondents to pre
epare and publish the merit list of
f SC
s for admission to MD/MS C
candidates
Courses (Session 2026) strictly
in
conformity
y with the above reproduced
Clauses B and PG-4(B) of
the
prospectus
s, Annexure P-4, along with o
other applicable provisions, if a
any.
While und
dertaking this exercise, responden
nts shall consider the candidature
e of
the petitio
oners along with all other applican
nts claiming reservation under the
SC
category,
examine their eligibility certificat
tes in accordance with the prescri
bed
conditions
s and determine their inter se mer
rit without introducing any additio
onal
eligibility
condition.
11.
Writ petition as well as pend
ding miscellaneous application(s)
), if
stand disposed of.
any, shall
(SUVIR SEHGAL)
JUDGE
RAJESH GAUR
( )
JUDGE
04.11.202
sheetal
26
Whether Speaking/reasoned Ye
Whether Reportable Ye
es/No
es/No
SHEETAL
2026.11.04 18:18
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document