Milind N. Jadhav, J.

1. Heard Mr. Deshmukh, learned Advocate for the Petitioner, Ms. Kapre, learned AGP for the State, and Mr. Yashodeep Deshmukh, learned Advocate for Respondent No. 3.

2. This Petition seeks to challenge the order dated 1st October 2024 passed pursuant to the committee meetings held on 12th August 2024 and 3rd September 2024, excluding District Civil Hospital, Satara, from the list of notified hilly area institutions for the purpose of grant of incentive marks under the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019. The Petitioner also challenges the order dated 8th January 2025 passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai, in Original Application No. 1275 of 2024, whereby the said Original Application came to be dismissed.

3. The case of the Petitioner is that the Petitioner, being an in-service Medical Officer serving at District Civil Hospital, Satara, since 2nd July 2021, is entitled to incentive marks under the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019, inasmuch as District Civil Hospital, Satara, caters to patients from villages situated in notified hilly and difficult areas of Satara District and therefore satisfies the criteria prescribed under the said Government Resolution for inclusion in the list of notified hilly area institutions.

4. The case of the Respondents is that the classification of institutions as "hilly area institutions" is a policy decision to be taken on the basis of the recommendation of the competent committee and the criteria prescribed under the Government Resolution; that District Civil Hospital, Satara, is not itself situated within a notified hilly area (even though it renders services to patients coming from hilly villages); and that the competent committee, upon due consideration of the proposal of Respondent No. 5, has found that the said institution does not satisfy the prescribed requirements for inclusion in the hilly area category.

5. In order to determine the present Petition, it is appropriate to refer to the following brief facts.

6. The Petitioner is an in-service Medical Officer serving at District Civil Hospital, Satara, since 2nd July 2021.

7. By Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019, incentive marks are granted to in-service candidates serving in notified hilly and difficult areas for the purpose of admission to postgraduate medical courses through NEET-PG.

8. The Petitioner appeared for NEET-PG 2024 and claimed that District Civil Hospital, Satara, ought to have been included in the list of notified hilly area institutions so as to entitle him to incentive marks.

9. Respondent No. 5 had initially submitted a proposal recommending inclusion of District Civil Hospital, Satara, in the hilly area list. However, upon consideration of the said proposal in the meetings held on 12th August 2024 and 3rd September 2024, the competent committee did not accept the proposal, and District Civil Hospital, Satara, came to be excluded from the final list vide order dated 1st October 2024.

10. Aggrieved thereby, the Petitioner approached the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal by filing Original Application No. 1275 of 2024, which came to be dismissed by order dated 8th January 2025, giving rise to the filing of the present Writ Petition.

11. We have heard the learned Advocates for the parties and perused the record.

12. The submissions advanced by the learned Advocates have received due consideration.

13. 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.

14. The Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019 confers incentive marks upon in-service candidates working in notified hilly and difficult areas. The determination as to which institutions qualify as being situated in, or otherwise satisfying the criteria for, notified hilly areas is a matter falling within the domain of the competent committee constituted for the said purpose and is founded upon objective criteria prescribed by the State Government.

15. The proposal of Respondent No. 5 recommending inclusion of District Civil Hospital, Satara, was duly considered by the competent committee in its meetings dated 12th August 2024 and 3rd September 2024 and was found, upon due application of mind, not to satisfy the prescribed criteria. There is nothing on record to demonstrate that the said decision is vitiated by mala fides, arbitrariness, or non-application of mind, so as to warrant interference by this Court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction.

16. Classification of institutions for the purpose of grant of incentive marks under the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019 is essentially a matter of policy, resting upon the assessment of the competent committee. Courts, in exercise of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, are ordinarily reluctant to substitute their own view for that of the competent authority in matters of policy and classification, unless such classification is shown to be arbitrary, discriminatory, or contrary to the criteria prescribed. In the present case, the Petitioner has not been able to demonstrate any such infirmity in the decision-making process of the competent committee, nor in the order passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal.

17. However, it is noticed from the Additional Affidavit filed by the Petitioner that subsequent developments have occurred during the pendency of the present Petition. The Petitioner states that, if 12% incentive marks were to be granted, his revised percentile would increase to approximately 55.16, which would render him eligible for admission to M.D. (Paediatrics) at Government Medical College, Nagpur, his score thereby exceeding that of the last admitted candidate. The Petitioner has also urged that recognition of District Civil Hospital, Satara, as a hilly area institution would enure to the benefit not only of the Petitioner but also of future in-service doctors serving at the said institution.

18. Having considered the rival contentions, the material on record, and the subsequent developments brought on record by way of the Additional Affidavit, this Court is of the view that [the decision of the competent committee excluding District Civil Hospital, Satara, from the hilly area list does not call for interference / the matter requires reconsideration by the competent committee in light of the subsequent developments], for the reasons recorded hereinabove.

19. The controversy in the present case revolves around three Government Resolutions/notifications. The first notification is dated 18th January 2010, issued by the Planning Department of the Government of Maharashtra under the Hill Division Development Programme. This particular notification refers to the hill divisions and areas. Under this notification, the parameters for declaring an area situated in the hills are stated in the said Government Order. On the basis of area and height criteria, there are two types of hill divisions: one is the Chief Hill Division and the other is a partially/to some extent Hill Area (अंशतः डंगराळ षेत्र).

20. On the basis of the criteria stated in this Government Notification/Order, Satara has been covered as a hill division area. Under the caption "Satara", Jaoli, Mahabaleshwar, Patan, Satara, Wai, Koregaon, Khatav, Khandala, Man, Phaltan, and Karad are declared as entirely hill division areas. The Petitioner seeks reliance on this Circular for claiming the benefit available to him.

21. Juxtaposed with this particular Government Resolution are two other Government Resolutions. One is the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019 issued by the Public Health Department, classifying medical institutions located in remote, difficult, and rural areas. A copy of this Notification is appended at Exhibit ‘D’, page No. 47. While issuing this Notification, the Public Health Department has not considered or even referred to the Government Notification dated 18th January 2010 issued by the Planning Department. This particular Notification does not consider the issue of hilly areas at all. Depending upon the location and situation of a medical facility, by virtue of this Notification, three categories are created, namely, medical institutions situated in remote areas, difficult areas, and rural areas. There are five criteria applied on the basis of Adivasi (Tribal), Naxalite, hilly region, rural region, and facilities available at the headquarters, and in the list appended to this particular Notification, there is no mention of Satara District at all. Prima facie, in our opinion, this particular Notification cannot be made applicable to the case of the Petitioner at all. 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. It is incomprehensible beyond all reasonable doubt that the District of Satara has been excluded and, therefore, it cannot be considered as a hilly area. It is common knowledge that Satara lies in the midst of a hilly region surrounded by mountains, namely, the most popular holiday destinations of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. We need not give any other example to consider the Satara region as a hilly area.

22. All that we can state is that the Annexure A-1 list of remote areas, Annexure A-2 list of difficult areas, and Annexure A-3 list of rural areas have considered Satara to be falling under the Pune Circle and have categorized it as rural public health centres. By no stretch of imagination, such categorization can be said to mean or interpret to imply that Satara does not fall within the hilly division area as contemplated by the impugned order.

23. The Petitioner desires to take the benefit of the Circular dated 19th July 2023 and more specifically Clause 3 thereof, on the basis of Satara being declared as a hill division by the Notification dated 18th January 2010. The said Notification has not been overruled or superseded by any subsequent Notification either by the Planning Department or by the Public Health Department of the State of Maharashtra.

24. In that view of the matter, we are of the clear opinion that the impugned order dated 1st October 2024 passed pursuant to the committee meetings held on 3rd September 2024 and the further order dated 8th January 2025 passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 1275 of 2024 are both unsustainable and cannot be countenanced.

25. 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.

26. Having so declared and set aside the impugned order and having granted the benefit to the Petitioner, we would not like to issue any further directions, save and except that the Petitioner would be entitled to additional marks in view of our aforesaid directions and order.

27. Though the Petitioner has stated that District Civil Hospital, Satara, should be included in the list of a full-fledged hill area/taluka in the Government Resolution dated 19th March 2019 issued by the Public Health Department, we deem it appropriate to leave the said exercise to be considered by the State Government at its level in accordance with law.

28. We direct that the incentive marks and all other benefits available to the Petitioner as an in-service candidate serving in a hilly area be made available in accordance with law. Though the Petitioner has prayed for such benefit on the basis of the NEET-PG results of 2024 and the Petition has been filed on 17th January 2025 and is being decided today in August 2026, the State Government shall take appropriate steps to extend the benefit of incentive marks to the Petitioner as an in-service candidate in accordance with law.

29. The Writ Petition stands allowed and disposed of in the above terms.