Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, an in-service medical officer at District Civil Hospital Satara since July 2021, sought incentive marks for admission to postgraduate medical courses under the Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019. The competent committee excluded the hospital from the list of notified hilly area institutions, and the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal dismissed his Original Application. The High Court quashed both orders, holding that Satara district is a notified hill division under the Planning Department Notification dated 18 January 2010, which had not been superseded. The 2019 GR, while categorizing institutions for incentive marks, did not consider hilly areas and could not override the earlier notification. The court found the committee’s decision arbitrary for ignoring the 2010 notification and declared the petitioner entitled to incentive marks under Clause 3 of the 2019 GR.
Headnote
A) Administrative Law - Judicial Review of Policy Decisions - Classification of institutions - Constitution of India, 1950, Article 226 - The High Court can interfere with a policy decision if it is arbitrary or contrary to the prescribed criteria; here, the committee failed to consider the 2010 hill area notification while applying the 2019 GR, rendering its decision unsustainable. Held that the impugned orders were vitiated by non-application of mind and error apparent on record. (Paras 15-16, 24-25)
B) Service Law - Incentive Marks for In-Service Candidates - Entitlement under Government Resolutions - Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019, Planning Department Notification dated 18 January 2010 - The 2019 GR provides incentive marks to in-service candidates in hilly areas; the 2010 notification declares Satara as a hill division, and since it was not superseded, the institution located there is entitled to hilly area status. Held that the petitioner is entitled to additional marks under Clause 3 of the 2019 GR. (Paras 21-23, 25)
C) Interpretation of Statutes/Notifications - Harmonious Construction - Co-existence of two notifications - The 2019 GR only deals with remote, difficult, and rural areas, not hilly areas, so it must be read with the 2010 notification which defines hilly areas; the exclusion of Satara from the 2019 GR’s list does not negate its status as a hilly area under the 2010 notification. Held that both notifications must be read together to give full effect. (Paras 21-22)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the exclusion of District Civil Hospital, Satara, from the list of notified hilly area institutions under Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019, and the subsequent dismissal of the Petitioner’s Original Application by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, were valid
Final Decision
The High Court quashed the impugned orders dated 1 October 2024 and 8 January 2025, allowed Original Application No. 1275 of 2024, and declared that District Civil Hospital Satara is situated in a hilly area entitling the Petitioner to incentive marks under Clause 3 of Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019, in view of the Planning Department Notification dated 18 January 2010.
Law Points
- Government policy decisions are subject to judicial review if arbitrary
- classification of institutions for incentive marks must align with existing notifications
- earlier notification declaring area as hill division not superseded remains binding
- incentive marks under GR dated 19 March 2019 extend to institutions in hilly areas as per Planning Department notification dated 18 January 2010
Case Details
2026 LawText (BOM) (08) 47
Writ Petition No. 1020 of 2025
Milind N. Jadhav, Nandesh S. Deshpande, JJ.
Mr. Abhay Deshmukh, Mr. Kiran Bakwatkar, Ms. T. J. Kapre, Mr. Yashodeep Deshmukh, Mr. Guru Birajdar
The Commissioner, Health Services, Mumbai & Ors.
Subscribe to unlock Case Details (Citation, Judge, Date & more)
Subscribe Now
Nature of Litigation
Writ petition under Article 226 of Constitution challenging exclusion of institution from hilly area list for incentive marks
Remedy Sought
Petitioner (in-service medical officer) sought quashing of committee order and tribunal order, and a declaration of entitlement to incentive marks under GR dated 19 March 2019
Filing Reason
Exclusion of District Civil Hospital Satara from the list of notified hilly area institutions despite being located in a notified hill division, causing denial of upward revision of percentile score for PG admission
Previous Decisions
The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal dismissed Original Application No. 1275 of 2024 by order dated 8 January 2025, upholding the committee’s decision
Issues
Whether the decision of the competent committee excluding District Civil Hospital Satara from the hilly area list was arbitrary or contrary to the Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019 read with the Planning Department Notification dated 18 January 2010?
Whether the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal erred in dismissing the Petitioner’s Original Application?
Whether the Petitioner is entitled to incentive marks under Clause 3 of the Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019?
Submissions/Arguments
Petitioner argued that Satara district is a notified hill division under the 2010 notification, which has not been superseded, and therefore the hospital qualifies for hilly area status under the 2019 GR.
Respondents contended that classification of institutions is a policy decision made by the competent committee based on prescribed criteria, and the hospital is not itself situated in a notified hilly area.
Ratio Decidendi
Where a Government Resolution granting incentive marks for service in hilly areas is silent on the definition of hilly areas, an earlier notification of another department declaring a district as a hill division, which has not been superseded, remains binding; the classification committee must consider all relevant notifications, and failure to do so renders the decision arbitrary. In such a case, the institution located in such a district is entitled to hilly area status under the incentive scheme.
Judgment Excerpts
We quash and set aside both the twin orders dated 1st October 2024 and 8th January 2025 and allow Original Application No. 1275 of 2024 filed by the Petitioner. We declare that, since District Civil Hospital, Satara, is situated in a hilly area as per the Government Notification dated 18th January 2010, the Petitioner shall be entitled to the additional benefit of the marks as per Clause 3 of the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019.
It is not in dispute that District Civil Hospital, Satara, is not itself situated within a notified hilly or difficult area and that its inclusion in the hilly area list was sought solely on the ground that it renders medical services to patients from villages situated in notified hilly regions of Satara District.
This particular Notification issued in 2019 is issued on the basis of the availability of Public Health Department's medical facilities in remote, difficult, and rural areas only. It does not consider the issue of hilly regions at all.
Procedural History
Petitioner served as Medical Officer at District Civil Hospital Satara from 2 July 2021. Government Resolution dated 19 March 2019 provided incentive marks for in-service candidates in hilly areas. Petitioner appeared for NEET-PG 2024 and claimed incentive marks. Respondent No. 5 submitted a proposal for inclusion of the hospital in the hilly area list, but the competent committee rejected it in meetings held on 12 August 2024 and 3 September 2024, and the hospital was excluded from the final list vide order dated 1 October 2024. Aggrieved, Petitioner filed Original Application No. 1275 of 2024 before Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, which dismissed it on 8 January 2025. Petitioner then filed Writ Petition No. 1020 of 2025 before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Circuit Bench at Kolhapur, which after hearing reserved judgment on 15 July 2026 and pronounced it on 7 August 2026, allowing the petition, quashing both orders, and granting the incentive marks.
Acts & Sections
- Constitution of India: Article 226
