Judgment:
Ashok Kumar Mathur, J.
1. The petitioner by this writ petition has prayed that respondent No, 2, R.N.T. Medical College, Udaipur may be directed to grant entry to the petitioner in the three years Residency System in the speciality of Paediatrics.
2. The petitioner did his M.B.B.S. and one year compulsory rotating internship. The petitioner sought appointment as Resident House Officer in the course of admission to three years Residency system. In the application submitted by him he indicated his first preference for General Medicine and second preference for Paediatrics and then other preferences. The petitioner was given admission in the General Medicine and the respondent No. 3 was given admission in Paediatrics by the order dated 12-6-1986 Annx. 1.
3. The petitioner submits that he gave his preference in Paediatrics because those of the candidates who had done their M.B.B.S. prior to the petitioner are eligible to seek along with him. If those persons were to be given entry to the three years Residency System, the petitioner according to his calculation could not have got admission in the three years Residency System in Paediatrics. Later on the respondent college took the position that these candidates are not entitled to get admission. On this these persons filed a suit in the civil court petitioner further submits that the situation has changed materially for various reasons and therefore he wanted that his speciality should be changed from Medicine to Paediatrics. This change was not made in case of the petitioner. Therefore, he has rushed to this Court by filing this writ petition.
4. A return has been filed by the respondents and the respondents have submitted that the applications were invited from the candidates for registration and it was clearly mentioned in the notice inviting the applications that the candidates should decide about the choice of subject carefully and clearly mentioned their preferences for each subject/speciality in writing. In absence of clear cut prefernce his/her allotment will be decided by the college council whose decision shall be final. In pursuance of this notice Annx. Rule 2/1 dated 17-5-1986 the petitioner gave his first preference to Medicine and accordingly he was admitted. Thereafter he wants to change his speciality. It is submitted by the respondents that it is not permitted. It is submitted that no person in this college has been allowed to change his speciality once he has filed his form in this session and the college has strictly adhered to the Schedule.
5. Mr. Mridul, learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that practice existed in the various colleges in Rajasthan that incumbents were allowed to change their speciality at the time of interviews and this practice has not been followed in the present case. He submits that earlier there are instances where candidates have been allowed to change their specialities. Thus, he submits that the petitioner is higher in merit to respondent No. 3 and once he had requested to change his speciality then the College Council should have permitted him to change the speciality. No statutory provision or administrative guidelines has been pointed out by the learned Counsel for the petitioner whereby a speciality once indicated in the application form can be permitted to change. It may be that in some instances the speciality might have been changed in some of the institutions but such change after submitting the applications showing their preferences is not proper except in exceptional circumstances. As a routine practice it is not good and it can not be entertained and followed as a good precedent.
6. Once a candidate in pursuance of the application gives his speciality in order of merit and if he is allowed to change as and when it suits him then there will be no end to it and the academic session is bound to be seriously prejudiced and no finality could be attached. Once a doctor with all sense of responsibility gives his preference then he cannot be allowed to change so as to create whole-some disturbance in the allotment of speciality. The specialities are allowed to the candidates according to their merit and preferences. If one candidate is allowed to change his preference then correspondently it is bound to affect the candidates next below him and further below. Thus, I decline to interfere with the matter, as such interference would disturb the entire course and would cause great hardship to other students who has honestly adhered to the applications and given their preferences.
7. In the result, there is no merit in this writ petition and the same is dismissed.
8. The parties are left to bear their own costs.