V. Anto S/O. M. Vargheese Vs. Union of India (Uoi) Through the Director General Afms and Pio, Ministry of Defence and Director and Commandant - Court Judgment

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constitution - entitlement to a seat in reservation quota - section 2(d) of the central educational institutions (reservation in admission) act, 2006 - section 3 of the university grants commission act, 1956 petitioner filed present petition seeking direction against respondent to consider the candidature of the petitioner for admission to the mbbs degree course under obc category quota in the ensuing academic year in the armed forces medical college, pune (afmc) - respondents contended that afmc acts as a training establishment for medical cadets for commission as officers in the armed forces and, hence, reservation policy is not applicable to it - whether afmc (pune) is a training institute where reservation to obc is not applicable - held, afmc (pune) is not covered by section 2(d)(iii) of the act of 2006 because it is not an institution declared as a deemed university under section 3 of the university grants commission act, 1956 though it receives aid from the central government - to fall under section 2(d)(iii), two conditions must be present, i.e. it must be an institution declared as a deemed university and it must be maintained by and receiving aid from the central government - since one of the conditions is not fulfilled, it is not covered by section 2(d)(iii) of the said act - afmc (pune) is also not covered by section 2(d)(iv) of the said act because it is not affiliated to an institution referred to in clause (i) or clause (ii) nor is it a constituent unit of an institution referred to in clause (iii) - therefore, though it is receiving aid form the central government, since it does not fulfill the second condition contained in section 2(d)(iv) it is not covered by it - afmc (pune) not a central educational institution within the meaning of the said act - if afmc (pune) is not covered by the said act then, there is no question of exempting it under section 4 - since afmc, pune, is a training institution, which trains medical cadets for their recruitment as commissioned officers in the armed forces, reservation policy cannot be imposed on it - therefore, respondents cannot be directed to consider the candidature of the petitioner for admission to the mbbs degree course under the obc quota for the ensuing academic year, 2009 in afmc (pune) - petition dismissed - section 10: [swatanter kumar, c.j., a.p. deshpande & smt. nishita mhatre, jj] admission to professional colleges - technical courses - publication of brochure on basis of which candidates seek admission to various institution keeping in mind their merit and preference of colleges held, for ensuring adherence to proper appreciation of an academic course, it is essential that the method of admission is just, fair and transparent. the first step in this direction would be publication of a brochure on the basis of which the applicants are supposed to aspire for admission to various institution keeping in mind their merit and preference of college. brochure, firstly has to be in conformity with law and the statutory scheme notified by the competent authority. it is a complete and composite document as it deals with the scheme for conducting their entrance examinations, declaration of results, general instructions and method of admission, etc. this brochure is binding on the applicants as well as the authorities. this brochure or admission notification issued by the state or other competent authority cannot be altered at a subsequent stage particularly once the process of admission has begun. there is hardly any exception to this accepted rule of law. section 10: [swatanter kumar, c.j., a.p. deshpande & smt. nishita mhatre,jj] admission to professional colleges - technical courses - approval to additional seats or to start new course - cut off dates held, the settled principle of law is that merit of the applicant is the primary criteria which would determine his rank as well as the college where he would be entitled to admission. this rule should not be frustrated as it will tantamount to entirely upsetting the object of admissions based on merit oriented method and would cast cloud on the fairness and transparency of the method of admission. one of the ways in which merit can be defeated is allowing increase in the intake strength or commencement if new colleges beyond cut-off date and admissions beyond the last date specified in the notification/calendar issued by the concerned authorities. this can be illustrated by giving an example. college a which is running a professional course like engineering or mba etc. has an intake capacity of 60 seats which has duly been notified in the information brochure. however, after the cut-off date, approval is granted by the aicte and thereafter, the process is taken up by the state and the intake capacity of the college is increased by 30 more seats. these seats would obviously, not be notified in the information brochure and the candidate who are meritorious and for whom college a; be the college of reference could not get seats or give preference as the seats were limited. none had the proper knowledge about the increase in intake of seats though at a much subsequent stage and may be even after the last date of admission is over either by themselves or under the order of the court even it is put on the internet or given in the newspaper, the candidates of higher rank or meritorious candidates would not be able to avail of that benefit because they have already submitted the testimonial, have paid their fees and the courses have commenced. in that situation, for variety of reasons, they may not be able to take admission in the institution of their higher preference while the candidates of much lower merit will be admitted to that course. besides defeating the merit, it has been commonly noticed that the late admissions made by the colleges directly effect notified candidates who have questioned it more than often as their admission process is not so just, fair and transparent which has given rise to the litigation. it is also a kind of back door entry method. another serious consequence that result from such admissions is shortening of the academic courses in an undesirable manner. it is expected of other candidate selected to a professional course that he or she would complete the course in its entirety and not by missing more than a month or so in joining the said course. this results in lowering the excellence of education as well as harms the academic standard of professional education. admission to professional colleges: [swatanter kumar, c.j., a.p. deshpande & smt. nishita mhatre, jj] technical courses - held, in process of admission to professional colleges relating to technical courses, primarily three institutional bodies are involved. (i) all india technical council for technical education, (ii) state of maharashtra through director of technical education and (iii) university to which such institution is affiliated the role of all these institutions in distinct and different but for a common object. primary of the rule of all india council for technical education (aicte) is now well settled but that certainly does not mean that role of the state government and for that matter the university is without any purpose or of no importance. the council is the authority constituted under the central act with the responsibility of maintaining education standards and judging upon the infra-structure and facilities available for imparting such professional education. its opinion is of utmost importance and shall take precedence over views of the state as well as that of the university. the concerned department of the state and the affiliating university has a role to pay but it is limited in its application. they cannot lay down any guidelines or policies which would be in conflict with the central statute or the students laid down a by the central body. state can frame its policy for admission to such professional courses but such policy again has to be in conformity with the directives issued by the central body. while the state grants its approval and university its affiliation for increased intake of seats or commencement for a new course/college, its directions should not offend and be repugnant to what has been laid down in the condition of approval granted by the central authority or council. what is most important is that all these authorities have to work ad idem as they all have a common object to achieve i.e. of proper imparting of education an ensuring maintenance of proper standards of education, examination and ensuring proper infrastructure for betterment of educational system. only if all these authorities work in a co-ordinated manner and with co-operation they would be able to achieve the very object for which all these entities exist admission to professional courses: [swatanter kumar, c.j.,a.p. deshpande & smt. nishita mhatre, jj] admission schedule - interference by courts held, all the expert bodies viz. aicte as well as directorate of education in consultation with the departments of the state regulating the process of admission and maintenance of standards of education had notified a legal binding document specifying dates and schedule for various matters in relation to admission of students and commencement of courses. there has to be so compelling circumstances and grounds before the court to interfere with the prescribed schedule. it is neither so arbitrary nor so perverse, keeping in view the essential features relating to imparting education to professional courses that it should invite judicial chastisement to the extent of laying down entirely new schedule. merely because there has been some delay on the part of either of these authorities to timely grant of either of these authorities to timely grant or decline approval and permission to commence a course per se would not be sufficient ground for disturbing the notified schedule and timely commencement of courses. - it is not like any other ordinary medical college. -in this rule `charitable purpose' includes relief of the poor, education, medical relief andthe advancement of any object of general public utility. 12. the appellant therein wanted to get exemption for the charities made by him which satisfied the definition of 'charitable purpose' in explanation to the rule. according to the appellant, where the institution or fund is clearly for a charitable purpose as mentioned in the explanation, the approval becomes unnecessary and it is useful only in doubtful cases. afmc (pune) was similar to any other medical college affiliated to the university of pune till january, 1989. therefore, the selection of the candidates / applicants was on the same basis like any other medical colleges. therefore, some changes were recommended and accepted. the government of india, granted approval and sanction for establishment of undergraduate wing at afmc, pune vide government of india, ministry of defence letter dated 4/7/1962. the students studying at afmc (pune) were granted status similar to cadets of ima/nda/ota as sanctioned vide government of india, ministry letter dated 7/12/1976. as a consequence, the afmc, pune ceased to be like any ordinary medical college and it was treated and, in fact, it functioned and operated as a training institute, like national defence academy, military college of engineering, indian military academy, officers training academy, etc. hegde has placed reliance is concerned, it is stated in the affidavit that though by the said letter hrd ministry has communicated that reservations prescribed under the said act are applicable to all central educational institutions, established, maintained or aided by the central government, training institutions like the national defence academy, indian navalship shivaji, indian military academy, officers training academy, college of military engineering and afmc (pune) are institutions which are meant for recruiting commissioned officers in the armed forces and, therefore, there has never been any reservation in them because they cannot be compared with the other central educational institutions run by the government. the supreme court gave certain examples like technical posts in research and development organizations / departments / institutions, in specialities and super-specialities in medicine, engineering and other such courses in physical sciences and mathematics, in defence services and in the establishments connected therewith.ranjana desai, j.1. rule. the respondents waive service. by consent of the parties, taken up for hearing forthwith. 2. in this petition filed under article 226 of the constitution of india, the petitioner has prayed that the respondents be directed to consider the candidature of the petitioner for admission to the mbbs degree course under other backward class category (for short, 'the obc') quota in the ensuing academic year in the armed forces medical college, pune [for short, 'afmc, (pune)']. 3. the petitioner claims to belong to the obc. on 17/1/2008, the petitioner applied for entrance examination for the admission to the mbbs degree course in the general category. he appeared for the written test for the entrance examination on 4/5/2008. on 17/5/2008, he sent a letter to respondent 2 i.e. the director & commandant, officer-in-charge, admission cell, afmc, pune, requesting him that his candidature may be considered under the obc reservation quota for admission to the mbbs degree course. since, the petitioner did not receive any reply, on 2/6/2008, he made an application under the right to information act, 2005 (for short, 'the rti act') asking respondent 2 to furnish necessary information to him. the petitioner had also made an application dated 19/6/2008 to the officer-in-charge under the rti act under the ministry of personnel and training asking for specific information as to whether 27% reservation to the obc students for admission in the mbbs degree course during the year 2008 is applicable to the afmc, pune. according to the petitioner, the under secretary to the government of india, ministry of personnel & training vide his letter dated 3/7/2008 advised him to approach the ministry of human resource development (for short, 'the hrd ministry'). 4. by letter dated 8th july, 2008, the public information officer of the respondents informed the petitioner that paragraphs 14 and 27 of the prospectus provide for reservation for scheduled caste / scheduled tribe (for short, 'the sc / st') and not for the obc. the petitioner received letter dated 5/8/2008 from respondent 1 stating that 27% reservation for obc candidates is not applicable for admission to the mbbs course 2008 at afmc, pune as per prevailing instructions. 5. thereafter, the petitioner sent application dated 13/8/2008 to the hrd ministry and called for additional information. by letter dated 12/9/2008, the hrd ministry informed the petitioner that the central educational institutions (reservation in admission) act, 2006 (for short, 'the said act') was applicable to all the central educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government. the letter further stated that all the central government departments / ministries are competent for the implementation of the reservation for admission to the central educational institutions under their purview. with this information, the petitioner addressed letter dated 22/9/2008 to the director general hospital services (armed forces) being the appellate authority & cpio of ministry of defence under the rti act seeking information as to whether in view of the information furnished by the hrd ministry, department of higher education, admission to the mbbs degree course, 2008 in amfc, pune should be granted to the petitioner under obc reservation quota or not. there was no proper response to this query. the director general hospital services (armed forces) & appellate authority vide his letter dated 3/11/2008 informed the petitioner that he had directed the cpio to furnish the address of the central information commissioner to the petitioner. no answer was given to the petitioner's specific question. the petitioner has, therefore, filed this writ petition. 6. the main question raised in this writ petition is whether pursuant to the enactment of the said act, there must be 27% reservation to the obc candidates for admission to the mbbs degree course in afmc, pune and, if yes, whether the petitioner's candidature should have been considered under the obc quota for admission to the mbbs course in afmc, pune. 7. we have heard mr. hegde, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. he drew our attention to the preamble to the said act and submitted that the said act, inter alia, aims at providing reservation to the obc citizens to certain educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government. mr. hegde submitted that afmc (pune) is aided by the central government and as such is covered by the said act and, therefore, the policy of reservation will undoubtedly apply to it. mr. hegde pointed out that section 4 of the said act contains exemptions. if the legislature wanted to exempt afmc (pune), it would have specifically covered it by the schedule to section 4(b). he submitted that inasmuch as afmc (pune) is not covered by the schedule to section 4(b), it is not exempted. mr. hegde submitted that clause 27 of the prospectus of the afmc (pune) provides for reservation to sc/st candidates. therefore, there is no reason why obc candidates should not get the benefit of the reservation policy in respect of seats in afmc (pune). mr. hegde relied on the letter dated 12/9/2008 sent by the hrd ministry to the petitioner. mr. hegde submitted that in the circumstances, this is a fit case where direction should be given to afmc (pune) to consider the candidature of the petitioner for admission to the mbbs degree course under the obc quota. 8. mr. khambatta, learned additional solicitor general appearing for the respondents, on the other hand, submitted that afmc (pune) is not governed by the said act. he submitted that it does not fall in any of the categories mentioned in section 2(d). with particular reference to sections 2(d)(iii) and (iv) of the said act, mr. khambatta submitted that the word 'and' mentioned therein must be given its ordinary meaning and should be understood in a conjunctive sense and, therefore, both the conditions mentioned therein must be present before an institution can be called central educational institution within the meaning of the said act. in this connection, mr. khambatta relied on maharaja sir pateshwari prasad singh v. state of uttar pradesh : 1963 vol.50 itr 731. mr. khambatta submitted that afmc (pune) does not fulfill both the conditions contemplated under sections 2(d) (iii) and (iv). mr. khambatta submitted that since the said act is not applicable to afmc (pune), there is no question of afmc (pune) being exempted under the provisions of the said act. mr. khambatta submitted that afmc (pune) is an institution of national importance. it is a training institute. it is not like any other ordinary medical college. in this connection, mr. khambatta drew our attention to the affidavit of lt. col. n.g. kamat, officiating administrative officer for commandant. mr. khambatta submitted that afmc acts as a training establishment for medical cadets for commission as officers in the armed forces and, hence, reservation policy is not applicable to it. he drew our attention to the judgment of the supreme court in indra sawhney etc. etc., v. union of india and ors. etc. etc. air 1993 sc 477 where the supreme court has stated that in defence services and in the establishments connected therewith, there are no reservations and merit is the only criteria for admission therein. mr. khambatta submitted that, therefore, the petition be rejected. 9. the preamble to the said act states that it is an act to provide for the reservation in admission of the students belonging to the sc/st and obc of citizens, to certain central educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. thus, this act aims at providing reservation inter alia, to obc citizens to certain central educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government. for an institution to be covered by the said act, it must fall in any of the categories mentioned in section 2(d) of the said act. section 2(d) reads as under : 2. definitions. -in this act, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) xxx xxx xxx xxx(b) xxx xxx xxx xxx(c) xxx xxx xxx xxx(d) 'central educational institution' means (i) a university established or incorporated by or under a central act; (ii) an institution of national importance set up by an actof parliament; (iii) an institution, declared as a deemed university under section 3 of the university grants commission act, 1956 (3 of 1956) and maintained by or receiving aid from the central government; (iv) an institution maintained by or receiving aid from the central government, whether directly or indirectly, and affiliated to an institution referred to in clause (i) or clause (ii), or a constituent unit of an institution referred to in clause (iii); (v) an educational institution set up by the central governmentunder the societies registration act, 1860 (21 of1860). 10. in our opinion, afmc (pune) does not fall in any of the sub-clauses of section 2(d) of the said act. afmc (pune) does not fall in section 2(d)(i) because it is not an university established or incorporated by or under a central act. clause (2) of the prospectus shows that it is affiliated to maharashtra university of health sciences, nashik, which is a state act. it is merely recognized by the medical council of india. it is not established or incorporated by the medical council of india. afmc (pune) is also not covered by section 2(d)(ii) of the said act because though it is an institution of national importance, it is not set up by an act of parliament. mr. khambatta, learned asg has confirmed this. afmc (pune) is not covered by section 2(d)(v) because it is not an educational institution set up by the central government under the societies registration act, 1860. 11. before we turn to section 2(d)(iii) and (iv), it is necessary to refer to the judgment of the supreme court in maharaja sir pateshwari prasad singh's case (supra) to understand whether the word 'and' appearing in sections 2(d)(iii) and (iv) of the said act should be given its ordinary meaning and understood in a conjunctive sense or not. in that case, the supreme court was concerned with rule 17 of the uttar pradesh agricultural income-tax rules. it reads thus: 17. sums paid by an assessee asdonations to any institution or fund which is established in the uttar pradesh for a charitable purpose and isapproved by the state government forthe purpose of the rule shall be exempt from liability to agricultural income- tax. . . explanation. -in this rule `charitable purpose' includes relief of the poor, education, medical relief andthe advancement of any object of general public utility.12. the appellant therein wanted to get exemption for the charities made by him which satisfied the definition of 'charitable purpose' in explanation to the rule. however, the funds and institutions on which the benefit of the charities had been conferred had not been approved by the state government. the contention of the appellant was that the word 'and' in the body of the rule should be read as 'or'. it was contended that the approval by the government is provided for in the rule only to avoid disputes later as to whether the institution or fund not so approved is for a charitable purpose within the meaning of the rule. according to the appellant, where the institution or fund is clearly for a charitable purpose as mentioned in the explanation, the approval becomes unnecessary and it is useful only in doubtful cases. it was his case that the word 'approved ... for the purpose of the rule' only mean 'approval for the purpose of acceptance of the institution as having a charitable purpose within the rule' so as to avoid any controversy later. while considering these contentions, the supreme court observed that normally the word 'and' should be given its ordinary meaning and should be understood in a conjunctive sense. so understood, the rule would require not only that the payment should be to an institution or fund established for a charitable purpose but that institution or fund must also be approved by the state government for the purpose of the rule i.e. as an institution donation to which would entitle the donor to exemption from agricultural income-tax. in our opinion, the ordinary meaning given to the word `and' in maharaja sir pateshwari prasad singh's case must be given to the word `and' appearing in sections 2(d)(iii) and (iv) of the said act making fulfillment of both the conditions set out therein mandatory for an institution to qualify for coverage of the said act. so read, we find that afmc (pune) is not covered by section 2(d)(iii) of the said act because it is not an institution declared as a deemed university under section 3 of the university grants commission act, 1956 though it receives aid from the central government. to fall under section 2(d)(iii) of the said act, both the conditions must be present i.e. it must be an institution declared as a deemed university and it must be maintained by and receiving aid from the central government. since one of the conditions is not fulfilled, it is not covered by section 2(d)(iii) of the said act. afmc (pune) is also not covered by section 2(d)(iv) of the said act because it is not affiliated to an institution referred to in clause (i) or clause (ii) nor is it a constituent unit of an institution referred to in clause (iii). therefore, though it is receiving aid form the central government, since it does not fulfill the second condition contained in section 2(d)(iv) of the said act, it is not covered by it. thus, by no stretch of imagination can it be said that afmc (pune) is a central educational institution within the meaning of the said act. 13. section 3 of the said act provides for reservation of seats in central educational institutions. section 3(iii) states that out of the annual permitted strength in each branch of study or faculty, twenty-seven per cent seats shall be reserved for the obc. section 4 states the institutions to which provisions of section 3 do not apply. schedule to section 4(b) contains names of institutions of national excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance which are exempted. it is true that afmc (pune) is not mentioned therein. however, the petitioner cannot draw any support from this fact because if the said act itself is not applicable, there is no need to have any provision exempting it from its application. if afmc (pune) is not covered by the said act i.e. if section 3 does not apply to it then, there is no question of exempting it under section 4 thereof. it is not possible for us to hold that since there is a provision stating institutions which are exempted from the application of the said act, those institutions which do not fall under exempted category, must be held to be necessarily covered by the said act. that is because to be covered by the said act, they must fall under sub-clauses of section 2(d). if they do not, there is no question of the said act being applicable to them. though hrd ministry has in its letter dated 12/9/1988 stated that the said act is applicable to all central educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government, the above fair interpretation of the relevant provisions of the said act indicates that afmc (pune) is not covered by the said act. 14. in affidavit in reply filed by mr. n.g. kamat, officiating administrative officer for commandant, it is stated that afmc (pune) is a training establishment for medical cadets for commission as officers in the armed forces. it is necessary to state the history of afmc (pune) which is narrated in the affidavit of mr. kamat. afmc (pune) was similar to any other medical college affiliated to the university of pune till january, 1989. therefore, the selection of the candidates / applicants was on the same basis like any other medical colleges. only a few students would opt for joining the armed forces as medical officers and a large number of students would opt for civil life after completing the course successfully. therefore, some changes were recommended and accepted. the government of india, granted approval and sanction for establishment of undergraduate wing at afmc, pune vide government of india, ministry of defence letter dated 4/7/1962. the students studying at afmc (pune) were granted status similar to cadets of ima/nda/ota as sanctioned vide government of india, ministry letter dated 7/12/1976. as a consequence, the afmc, pune ceased to be like any ordinary medical college and it was treated and, in fact, it functioned and operated as a training institute, like national defence academy, military college of engineering, indian military academy, officers training academy, etc. from january, 1989 onwards, afmc, pune is providing undergraduate degree course in medicine to the students who wish to join and serve the country as commissioned medical officers in the armed forces medical services (army, navy and air force). the selection is based on merits through all india competitive examination conducted and controlled by the director general, armed forces medical services, new delhi. the successful candidates are interviewed and only a top few 130 students (105 boys and 25 girls) and a few foreign cadets nominated from friendly countries by ministry of external affairs are selected after a strict medical examination of fitness. those who are selected, do not have option not to join the armed forces. they are required to give an undertaking to the effect that they would join the defence services. 15. so far as hrd ministry's letter dated 12/9/2008 on which mr. hegde has placed reliance is concerned, it is stated in the affidavit that though by the said letter hrd ministry has communicated that reservations prescribed under the said act are applicable to all central educational institutions, established, maintained or aided by the central government, training institutions like the national defence academy, indian navalship shivaji, indian military academy, officers training academy, college of military engineering and afmc (pune) are institutions which are meant for recruiting commissioned officers in the armed forces and, therefore, there has never been any reservation in them because they cannot be compared with the other central educational institutions run by the government. 16. it is contended by mr. hegde that the stand of the respondents that there is no reservation in afmc, pune is belied by clause 27 of its prospectus. indeed, clause 27 provides for reservation for sc/st candidates. it reads thus: sc/st candidates: 27. the following procedure will be followedfor admission of sc/st candidates against the reserved seats:(a) the sc/st candidates must qualifyin the written examination and come within the zone to be called up for interview. (b) they must come within the first 500 in the final combined merit list of boys and girls. (c) they must fulfill all other conditions/standards insofar as age, academic qualification, medical fitness, and so on are concerned as applicable to non sc/st candidates. (d) these reserved seats will be in addition to any vacancies securedby sc/st candidates on the basisof their position on the merit lists. (e) if any sc/st girls / boys are admitted against reserved vacancies the number of girls/boysto be admitted against the general seats will be reduced correspondingly. (f) all such candidates will have to sign a bond on the same lines and on the same conditions as other candidates.17. clause 27, while providing for reservation imposes stringent conditions on the candidates. it requires the candidates to qualify in the written examination and to come within the zone to be called for interview. it requires the candidates to come within the first 500 in the final combined merit list of boys and girls. conditions imposed in clause 27 are for the purpose of maintaining certain educational standard in the afmc, pune, obviously because, it has a great relevance to the defence of india. upon analysis of various provisions of the said act, we have already reached a conclusion that the said act does not cover afmc (pune). inspite of this, if afmc (pune) has chosen in its discretion to provide for reservation for sc/st candidates, we cannot opine on that. as to why similar provision is not there for obc candidates is not for us to say. as the matter stands today, the said act being not applicable to afmc, pune, we cannot by judicial fiat direct afmc, pune to reserve seats for obc candidates. so far as the petitioner's prayer that afmc (pune) be directed to admit him to the mbbs degree course under the reservation quota for obc is concerned, we may only add at this stage that he scored only 17.5 marks out of 200 and, therefore, could not come in final merit list for interview and medical examination. 18. in this connection, we may refer to the judgment of the supreme court in indra sawhney's case where the supreme court was considering the reservation policy. the supreme court referred to article 335 of the constitution which refers to claims of sc/st to services and posts. the supreme court expressed that there are certain services and positions where either on account of the nature of duties attached to them or the level (in the hierarchy) at which they obtain, merit alone counts and in such situations, it may not be advisable to provide for reservations. the supreme court gave certain examples like technical posts in research and development organizations / departments / institutions, in specialities and super-specialities in medicine, engineering and other such courses in physical sciences and mathematics, in defence services and in the establishments connected therewith. the supreme court further observed that similarly, in the case of posts at the higher echelons e.g. professors (in education), pilots in indian airlines and air india, scientists and technicians in nuclear and space application, provision for reservation would not be advisable. the supreme court referred to memorandum dated 13/8/1990 which applies to the rule of reservation to 'civil posts and services under the government of india' only and observed that this means that defence forces are excluded from the operation of the rule of reservation though it may yet apply to civil posts in defence services. the supreme court expressed that in certain services and in respect of certain posts, application of the rule of reservation may not be advisable. the supreme court noted some of those instances as (1) defence services including all technical posts therein but excluding civil posts, (2) all technical posts in establishments engaged in research and development including those connected with atomic energy and space and establishments engaged in production of defence equipment, (3) teaching posts of professors - and above, if any, (4) posts in super- specialities in medicine, engineering and other scientific and technical subjects, (5) posts of pilots (and co-pilots) in indian airlines and air india. the supreme court clarified that the list given above is merely illustrative and not exhaustive. 19. mr. khambatta, learned additional solicitor general has rightly drawn support from the above observations of the supreme court. since afmc, pune, is a training institution, which trains medical cadets for their recruitment as commissioned officers in the armed forces, reservation policy cannot be imposed on it by the court. in the circumstances, the respondents cannot be directed to consider the candidature of the petitioner for admission to the mbbs degree course under the obc quota for the ensuing academic year 2009 in afmc (pune). the petition is dismissed.