TMI Blog1980 (11) TMI 150X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Society registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Registration of Societies Act, 1898. The Memorandum of Association of the Society in clause 3 sets out the objects for which the Society is incorporated and they include amongst other things establishment of the college with a view to providing instruction and research in such branches of engineering and technology as the college may think fit and for the advancement of learning and knowledge in such branches. Vide subclause (i). The Society is empowered by clause 3 sub- clause (ii) of the Memorandum of Association to make rules for the conduct of the affairs of the Society and to add to, amend, vary or rescind them from time to time with the approval of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir State (hereinafter referred to as the State Government) and the Central Government. Clause 3 sub-clause (iii) of the Memorandum of Association confers power on the Society to acquire and hold property in the name of the State Government. Sub-clause (v) of clause 3 of the Memorandum of Association contemplates that monies for running the college would be provided by the State and Central Governments and sub-clause (vi) requires the Society to deposit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uperintendence, direction and control of the affairs and its income and property in the governing body of the Society which is called the Board of Governors. Rule 7 lays down the constitution of the Board of Governors by providing that it shall consist of the Chief Minister of the State Government as Chairman and the following as members : Three nominees of the State Government, three nominees of the Central Government, one representative of the All India Council for Technical Education, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu and Kashmir, two industrialists/technologists in the region to be nominated by the State Government, one nominee of the Indian Institute of Technology in the region, one nominee of the University Grants Commission two representatives of the Faculty of the College and the Principal of the college as ex-officio member-Secretary. The State Government is empowered by rule 10 to remove any member of the Society other than a member representing the State or Central Government from the membership of the Society with the approval of the Central Government. Clause (iv) of Rule 15 confers power on the Board to make bye-laws for admission of students to various cours ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r candidates belonging to other States including 15 seats reserved for certain categories of students. So far as the seats reserved for candidates belonging to States other than Jammu Kashmir were concerned, certain reservations were made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and sons and wards of defence personnel killed or disabled during hostilities and it was provided that "inter se merit will be determined on the basis of marks secured in the subjects of English, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics only". The provision made with regard to seats reserved for candidates belonging to Jammu Kashmir State was that "apart from 2 seats reserved for the sons and daughters of the permanent college employees, reservations shall be made in accordance with the Orders of Jammu and Kashmir Government for admission to technical institutions and the seats shall be filled up on the basis of comparative merit as determined under the following scheme, both for seats to be filled on open merit and for reserved seats in each category separately; (1) marks for written test-100 and (2) marks for viva voce examination-50, marking up in the aggregate-150. It was not ment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the petitioners on the one hand and some of the successful candidates on the other at the qualifying examination, in the written test and at the viva voce examination. This chart shows beyond doubt that the successful candidates whose marks are given in the chart had obtained fairly low marks at the qualifying examination as also in the written test, but they had been able to score over the petitioners only on account of very high marks obtained by them at the viva voce examination. The petitioners feeling aggrieved by this mode of selection filed the present writ petitions challenging the validity of the admissions made to the college on various grounds. Some of these grounds stand concluded by the recent decision of this Court in Miss Nishi Maghu v. State of Jammu Kasmir Ors. and they were therefore not pressed before us. Of the other grounds, only one was canvassed before us and we shall examine it in some detail. But before we proceed to consider the merits of this ground of challenge, we must dispose of a preliminary objection raised on behalf of the respondents against the maintainability of the writ petition. The respondents contended that the college is run by society ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts by enabling the Government to its obligation in relation to the Fundamental Rights by setting up an authority to act as its instrumentality or agency for carrying out its functions. Where constitutional fundamentals vital to the maintenance of human rights are at stake, functional realism and not facial cosmetics must be the diagnostic tool, for constitutional law must seek the substance and not the form. Now it is obvious that the Government may act through the instrumentality or agency of natural persons or it may employ the instrumentality or agency of juridical persons to carry out its functions. In the early days when the Government had limited functions, it could operate effectively through natural persons constituting its civil service and they were found adequate to discharge governmental functions which were of traditional vintage. But as the tasks of the Government multiplied with the advent of the welfare State, it began to be increasingly felt that the frame work of civil service was not sufficient to handle the new tasks which were often specialised and highly technical in character and which called for flexibility of approach and quick decision making. The inadequa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rnment, it must be subject to the same limitations in the field of constitutional law as the Government itself, though in the eye of the law it would be a distinct and independent legal entity. If the Government acting through its officers is subject to certain constitutional limitations, it must follow a fortiorari that the Government acting through the instrumentality or agency of a corporation should equally be subject to the same limitations. If such a corporation were to be free from the basic obligation to obey the Fundamental Rights, it would lead to considerable erosion of the efficiency of the Fundamental Rights, for in that event the Government would be enabled to over-ride the Fundamental Rights by adopting the stratagem of carrying out its functions through the instrumentality or agency of a corporation, while retaining control over it. The Fundamental Rights would then be reduced to little more than an idle dream or a promise of unreality. It must be remembered that the Fundamental Rights are constitutional guarantees given to the people of India and are not merely paper hopes or fleeting promises and so long as they find a place in the Constitution, they should not be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Gandhi era. It is the Fundamental Rights which along with the Directive Principles constitute the life force of the Constitution and they must be quickened into effective action by meaningful and purposive interpretation. If a corporation is found to be a mere agency or surrogate of the Government, "in fact owned by the Government, in truth controlled by the government and in effect an incarnation of the government," the court must not allow the enforcement of Fundamental Rights to be frustrated by taking the view that it is not the government and therefore not subject to the constitutional limitations. We are clearly of the view that where a corporation is an instrumentality or agency of the government, it must be held to be an 'authority' within the meaning of Art. 12 and hence subject to the same basic obligation to obey the Fundamental Rights as the government. We may point out that this very question as to when a corporation can be regarded as an 'authority' within the meaning of Art. 12 arose for consideration before this Court in R. D. Shetty v. The International Airport Authority of India Ores. There, in a unanimous judgment of three Judges delivered by one of us (Bhagwat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... issued from time to time by Government in respect of policy matters. So also a corporation incorporated under law is managed by a board of directors or committee of management in accordance with the provisions of the statute under which it is in corporated. When does such a corporation become an instrumentality or agency of Government? Is the holding of the entire share capital of the Corporation by Government enough or is it necessary that in addition there should be a certain amount of direct control exercised by Government and, if so what should be the nature of such control? Should the functions which the Corporation is charged to carry out possess any particular characteristic or feature, or is the nature of the functions immaterial? Now, one thing is clear that if the entire share capital of the corporation is held by Government, it would go a long way towards indicating that the corporation is an instrumentality or agency of Government. But, as is quite often the case, a corporation established by statute may have no shares or shareholders, in which case it would be a relevant factor to consider whether the administration is in the hands of a board of directors appointed by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction where public functions are being performed. Vide Arthur S. Miller: "The Constitutional Law of the Security State" (10) Stanford Law Review 620 at 664)." "It may be noted that besides the so-called traditional functions, the modern state operates as multitude of public enterprises and discharges a host of other public functions. If the functions of the corporation are of public importance and closely related to governmental functions, it would be a relevant factor in classifying the corporation as an instrumentality or agency of Government. This is precisely what was pointed out by Mathew, J., in Sukhdev v. Bhagatram (supra) where the learned Judge said that "institutions engaged in matters of high public interest of performing public functions are by virtue of the nature of the functions performed government agencies. Activities which are too fundamental to the society are by definition too important not to be considered government functions." The court however proceeded to point out with reference to the last functional test: "......... the decisions show that even this test of public or governmental character of the function is not easy of application and does not invar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... much as to meet almost entire expenditure of the corporation, it would afford some indication of the corporation being impregnated with governmental character." (3) "It may also be a relevant factor.......whether the corporation enjoys monopoly status which is the State conferred or State protected." (4) "Existence of deep and pervasive State control may afford an indication that the Corporation is a State agency or instrumentality." (5) "If the functions of the corporation of public importance and closely related to governmental functions, it would be a relevant factor in classifying the corporation as an instrumentality or agency of Government." (6) "Specifically, if a department of Government is transferred to a corporation, it would be a strong factor supportive of this inference of the corporation being an instrumentality or agency of Government." If on a consideration of these relevant factors it is found that the corporation is an instrumentality or agency of government, it would, as pointed out in the International Airport Authority's case, be an 'authority' and, therefore, 'State' within the meaning of the expression in Article 12. We find that the same view has b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ving the applicability of Article 311 have no relevance to the issue before us. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents Nos. 6 to 8, however, relied strongly on the decision in Sabhajit Tewary v. Union of India Ors(2) and contended that this decision laid down in no uncertain terms that a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 can never be regarded as an "authority" within the meaning of Article 12. This being a decision given by a Bench of five Judges of this Court is undoubtedly binding upon us but we do not think it lays down any such proposition as is contended on behalf of the respondents. The question which arose in this case was as to whether the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research which was juridically a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 was an "authority" within the meaning of Article 12. The test which the Court applied for determining this question was the same as the one laid down in the International Airport Authority's case and approved by us, namely, whether the Council was an instrumentality or agency of the Government. The Court implicitly assented to the proposition that if the Counc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f we have regard to the Memorandum of Association and the Rules of the Society. The composition of the Society is dominated by the representatives appointed by the Central Government and the Governments of Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with the approval of the Central Government. The monies required for running the college are provided entirely by the Central Government and the Government of Jammu Kashmir and even if any other monies are to be received by the Society, it can be done only with the approval of the State and the Central Governments. The Rules to be made by the Society are also required to have the prior approval of the State and the Central Governments and the accounts of the Society have also to be submitted to both the Governments for their scrutiny and satisfaction. The Society is also to comply with all such directions as may be issued by the State Government with the approval of the Central Government in respect of any matters dealt with in the report of the Reviewing Committee. The control of the State and the Central Governments is indeed so deep and pervasive that no immovable property of the Society can be disposed of in any manner wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tate of Tamil Nadu that this Court laid bare a new dimension of Article 14 and pointed out that Article has highly activist magnitude and it embodies a guarantee against arbitrariness. This Court speaking through one of us (Bhagwati, J.) said : "The basic principle which therefore informs both Articles 14 and 16 is equality and inhibition against discrimination. Now, what is the content and reach of this great equalising principle ? It is a founding faith, to use the words of Bose, J., "a way of life", and it must not be subjected to a narrow pedantic or lexicographic approach. We cannot countenance any attempt to truncate its all-embracing scope and meaning, for to do so would be to violate its activist magnitude. Equality is a dynamic concept with many aspects and dimensions and it cannot be "cribbled, cabined and confined" within traditional and doctrinaire limits. From a positivistic point of view, equality is antithetic to arbitrariness. In fact, equality and arbitrariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a republic while the other, to the whim and caprice of an absolute monarch. Where an act is arbitrary it is implicit in it that it is unequal both accor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ry and the guarantee of equality under Article 14 would be breached. Wherever therefore there is arbitrariness in State action whether it be of the legislature or of the executive or of "authority" under Article 12, Article 14 immediately springs into action and strikes down such State action. In fact, the concept of reasonableness and non- arbitrariness pervades the entire constitutional scheme and is a golden thread which runs though the whole of the fabric of the Constitution. We may now turn to the merits of the controversy between the parties. Though several contentions were urged in the writ petitions, challenging the validity of the admissions made to the college, they were not all pressed before us and the principal contention that was advanced was that the society acted arbitrarily in the matter of granting of admissions, first by ignoring the marks obtained by the candidates at the qualifying examination; secondly by relying on viva voce examination as a test for determining comparative merit of the candidates; thirdly by allocating as many as 50 marks for the viva voce examination as against 100 marks allocated for the written test and lastly, by holding superficial in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under this ground of challenge was that viva voce examination does not afford a proper criterion for assessment of the suitability of the candidates for admission and it is a highly subjective and impressionistic test where the result is likely to be influenced by many uncertain and imponderable factors such as predelictions and prejudices of the interviewers, his attitudes and approaches, his pre-conceived notions and idiosyncrasies and it is also capable of abuse because it leaves scope for discrimination, manipulation and nepotism which can remain undetected under the cover of an interview and moreover it is not possible to assess the capacity and calibre of a candidate in the course of an interview lasting only for a few minutes and, therefore, selections made on the basis of oral interview must be regarded as arbitrary and hence violative of Art. 14. Now this criticism cannot be said to be wholly unfounded and it reflects a point of view which has certainly some validity. We may quote the following passage from the book on "Public Administration in Theory and Practice" by M. P. Sharma which voices a far and balanced criticism of the oral interview method : "The oral test of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd to discriminate between that which was relevant, material and reliable and that which was not. It also must be remembered that the best oral interview provides opportunity for analysis of only a very small part of a person's total behaviour. Generalizations from a single interview regarding an individual's total personality pattern have been proved repeatedly to be wrong." But, despite all this criticism, the oral interview method continues to be very much in vogue as a supplementary test for assessing the suitability of candidates wherever test of personal traits is considered essential. Its relevance as a test for determining suitability based on personal characteristics has been recognised in a number of decisions of this Court which are binding upon us. In the first case on the point which came before this Court, namely, R. Chitra Lekha and Others v. State of Mysore and Others this Court pointed out : "In the field of education there are divergent views as regards the mode of testing the capacity and calibre of students in the matter of admissions to colleges. Orthodox educationists stand by the marks obtained by a student in the annual examination. The modern trend of o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ad of challenge was that even if oral interview may be regarded in principle as a valid test for selection of candidates for admission to a college, it was in the present case arbitrary and unreasonable since the marks allocated for the oral interview were very much on the higher side as compared with the marks allocated for the written test. The marks allocated for the oral interview were 50 as against 100 allocated for the written test, so that the marks allocated for the oral interview came to 33 1/3% of the total number of marks taken into account for the purpose of making the selection. This, contended the petitioners, was beyond all reasonable proportion and rendered the selection of the candidates arbitrary and violative of the equality clause of the Constitution. Now there can be no doubt that, having regard to the drawbacks and deficiencies in the oral interview test and the conditions prevailing in the country, particularly when there is deterioration in moral values and corruption and nepotism are very much on the increase, allocation of a high percentage of marks for the oral interview as compared to the marks allocated for the written test, cannot be accepted by the Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... merely because the Court could not take-up the hearing of the writ petitions for such a long time should be no ground for denying relief to the petitioners, if they are otherwise so entitled. But we do not think that on the material placed before us we can sustain the allegation of mala fides against the Committee. It is true, and this is a rather disturbing feature of the present cases, that a large number of successful candidates succeeded in obtaining admission to the college by virtue of very high marks obtained by them at the viva voce examination tilted the balance in their favour, though the marks secured by them at the qualifying examination were much less than those obtained by the petitioners and even in the written test, they had fared much worse than the petitioners. It is clear from the chart submitted to us on behalf of the petitioners that the marks awarded at the interview are by and large in inverse proportion to the marks obtained by the candidates at the qualifying examination and are also, in a large number of cases, not commensurate with the marks obtained in the written test. The chart does create a strong suspicion in our mind that the marks awarded at the v ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nterview did not take more than 2 or 3 minutes on an average and the questions asked had no bearing on the factors required to be taken into account, the oral interview test would be vitiated, because it would be impossible in such an interview to assess the merit of a candidate with reference to these factors. This allegation of the petitioners has been denied in the affidavit in reply filed by H. L. Chowdhury on behalf of the college and it has been stated that each candidate was interviewed for 6 to 8 minutes and "only the relevant questions on the aforesaid subjects were asked". If this statement of H. L. Chowdhury is correct, we cannot find much fault with the oral interview test held by the Committee. But we do not think we can act on this statement made by H. L. Chowdhury, because there is nothing to show that he was present at the interviews and none of the three Committee members has come forward to make an affidavit denying the allegation of the petitioners and stating that each candidate was interviewed for 6 to 8 minutes and only relevant questions were asked. We must therefore, proceed on the basis that the interview of each candidate did not last for more than 2 or 3 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
