The court has also directed the state government to permit the petitioners to continue their studies in the medical and dental colleges where they had secured admission
In a judgment which would have wider ramifications, the Gujarat High Court had set aside the state government's decision to cancel the domicile certificate of four medical and dental students on the ground that they had not completed 10 years of continuous study in Gujarat. The court has also directed the state government to permit the petitioners to continue their studies in the medical and dental colleges where they had secured admission.
Notably, due to the revocation of their domicile certificate, their admission in state-run medical and dental colleges also got cancelled after two-months post the commencement of the course.
The single judge bench of Justice JB Pardiwala in the 77-page judgment has rejected the state government's contention that even if the parents of an applicant stay in Gujarat for more than 10 years, the applicant needs to fulfil the criteria of 10 years of continuous study in the state in order to get a domicile. The court has clarified that: "For any reason, if the child pursues his or her studies outside the state, he or she would not lose domicile in the state where the parents are residing for the past more than 10 years".
Justice Pardiwala has also clarified in his judgment that Rule 4 (1-A) of the Gujarat Professional Medical Education Courses (Regulation of Admission in Undergraduate Courses) (Amendment) Rules, 2018, merely provides that the student must be 'domicile of Gujarat state'. The court has also remarked that the same does not provide the 'minimum continuous stay of 10 years in the state of Gujarat at the time of application' as the eligibility for the domicile of Gujarat.
The court has also said the only interpretation that can be given to the term 'domicile' as contained in the rules is residence of a particular kind. This residence, however, need not be continuous, but "must be indefinite not purely fleeting". It also remarked that when the rules does not provide for such requirements for domicile, the state cannot introduce such a requirement by way of a letter or circular. Notably, the state government had cancelled the domicile certificates based on the administrative instructions issued by the General Administration Department on June 8, 1989.
The state had contended during the hearing of the matter that the petitioners were not born in Gujarat and had studied in other states before coming to Gujarat for their studies. It was also submitted that they are not entitled to get a domicile certificate and the same was revoked during verification of such certificates pursuant to an order by a coordinate bench of the high court. The court had directed the state authorities to verify domicile certificates submitted for medical admissions after a petition claimed that bogus certificates have been submitted by students to secure admission.
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