AHMEDABAD MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND ANR. versus NILAYBHAI R. THAKORE AND ANR.

Citation: [1999] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 647 · Decided: 13-10-1999 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V.N. KHARE · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

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Judgment (excerpt)

AHMEDABAD MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND ANR. 
A 
v. 
NILA YBHAI R. THAKORE AND ANR. 
OCTOBER 13, 1999 
[V.N. KHARE AND N. SANTOSH HEGDE, JJ.] 
B 
Education-Higher Education-Admission to Professional Courses. 
N.H.L. Municipal Medical College Admission Rules: Rules 6(i) and 7. 
Medical Colleg~Admission-Eligibility-"Local students"-Defini-
C 
tion of-Restricted to students of schools situated within municipal 
area-Municipal Corporation managed, administered and financed a Medical 
College-Only "local students" allowed admission-Those students who 
passed from schools situated within Urban Development Area not considered 
as "local students" and, therefore, denied admission-Validity of-Held : D 
Classification based only on location of the educational institution is not 
reasonable and has no nexus with the object to be achieved-Such Rules are, 
there/ ore, arbitrary-However, such Rules need not be struck down as that 
would allow admission to all eligible candidates in the country which is 
against the very object of the running of the Medical College by the Corpora-
tion-The Corporation is providing medical education for the last 30 years-.:Jt E 
has also reserved 15 percent of seats to all-India merit students-Therefore, 
the Rules should receive a reasonable and practical interpretation-Hence, 
"local student" would also include a pennanent resident of the Municipality 
who has passed from any of the high schools or colleges situated within the 
Urban Development Area also-Constitution of India, 1950, Art 14. 
Reservation-Undergraduate courses-Based on domicile, university or 
institution-Held : Pennissible. 
Reservation-Postgraduate and superspeciality courses-Held, not per-
F 
missible. 
G 
Interpretation of Statutes: 
Subordinate legislation-Interpretation-Practical and reasonabl~ 
Rule of-Held, where declaring a rule ultra vires leads to considerable damage 
to the cause for which it is enacted, Court should iron out the creases in the H 
647 
648 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1999] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 
A Rule in order to uphold its validity. 
B 
C 
Words and Phrases: 
"Local student"-llfeaning of-ln the context of R. 7 of the N.H.L. 
Municipal Medical College Admission Rules. 
The appellant-Municipal Corporation managed, administered and 
financed a Medical College for the last 30 years and reserved 15 percent 
of the seats for all-India merit students. Rule 7 of the N.H.L. Municipal 
Medical College Admission Rules defined a "local student" as a student 
who had passed the SSC/New SSC examination and the qualifying ex-
amination from the institutions situated within the limits of the Municipal 
corporation. As per this Rule, only those students who qualified from 
educational institutions situated within the municipal limits would be 
eligible to be treated as local students. While the permanent resident 
students of the city who for fortuitous reasons happened to acquire 
D qualification from educational institutions situated just outside the 
municipal limits, namely, Urban Development Area would not be eligible 
for being treated as local students. 
The respondents challenged Rules 6(i) and 7 of the Rules on the 
ground that the said Rules which define "the local students" are un-
E reasonable, illegal, illogical, irrational and violative of Articles 14 and 15 
of the Constitution. The High Court held the impugned Rules as violative 
of article 14 of the Constitution and, accordingly, struck down the same. 
Hence this appeal. 
F 
Allowing the appeal, this Court 
HELD 1.1. So far as undergraduate courses are concerned, the 
reservation based on domicile, university · or institution is permissible 
provided the said reservation is not wholesale. [653-C] 
G 
D.P. Joshi v. State of Madhya Bharat, [1955) 1 SCR 1215, D.N. 
Chanchala v. State of Mysore, [1971) Suppl. SCR 608, Jagadish Saran v. 
Union of India, [1980) 2 SCC 768 and Dr. Pradeep Jain v. Union of Jndia, 
[1984) 3 SCR 942, relied on. 
1.2. With regard to postgraduate and superspecialities this Court 
H has prohibited any reservation whatsoever. [653-D) 
r 
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AHMEDABAD MUNICIPAL CORPN. v. NILAYBHAI 
649 
State of Rajastha!f v .. Dr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, [1989] 1 SCC 93, 
Dinesh Kumar v. Motilal Nehru Medical College, (1986] 3 SCR 345; 
Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay v. Thukral Anjali Deo Kumar, 
[1989] 2 SCC 249; P.K. Goyel v. U.P. Medical Council, [1992] 3 SCC 232 
and Gujarat University v. Raj iv Gopinath Bhatt, [1996] 4 SCC 60, relied on. 
2.1.

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