L. RATH, J. ( 1 ) THE petitioner having failed to secure admission into R. H. S. Course of the current year even though he had been selected for the purpose and had been called upon to take admission, has approached this Court for issue of a mandamus for the desired relief. The facts of the case, which are not in dispute, are that the petitioner's father is an employee under the Central Government and was posted to Orissa from 16-4-66 to 21-1-76 and is again continuing in this State from 10-7-80 till date. The petitioner has almost been entirely educated in Orissa having passed the High School Certificate Examination, I. Sc. Examination and the M. B. B. S. Examination in this State and had also joined as an Assistant Surgeon in the State Medical Service on 19-12-87. He made an application for a seat in the R. H. S. Course for the year 1987-88 in any of the Medical Colleges of the State in the prescribed form issued in pursuance of the proposition (Annexure-1) approved by the Government. The application was complete in all respects and therein the petitioner had categorised himself as the son of a Central Government employee and had sought to avail the benefit of a reserved seat as a Scheduled caste candidate. An intimation was issued to him on 31-12-87 by the Convener of the Selection Committee-cum-Principal, M. K. C. G. Medical College, Berhampur intimating of his having been provisionally selected for admission into the R. H. S. assignment in General Medicine at the M. K. C. G. Medical College, Berhampur and directing him to report for admission on or before the 20th of January 1988. On receipt of that intimation the petitioner resigned from service. The resignation was accepted on 13-1-88 and he was relieved on 17-1-88 to join the R. H. S. course at the M. K. C. G. Medical College, Berhampur. He thereafter appeared before the convenor on 19-1-88 for taking admission and executed the necessary agreement, bond and undertakings and as required, was also medically examined and found fit. He also submitted the original of his caste certificate as per the direction in the intimation, Annexure-3. The caste certificate, Annexure-2 was from the Sub-divisional Officer, Ranaghat, in the district of Nadia, West Bengal showing the petitioner as belonging to "namasudra" caste. He also submitted the original of his caste certificate as per the direction in the intimation, Annexure-3. The caste certificate, Annexure-2 was from the Sub-divisional Officer, Ranaghat, in the district of Nadia, West Bengal showing the petitioner as belonging to "namasudra" caste. He was however not admitted and was directed to obtain a caste certificate from an authority in Orissa by 10th Feb. , 1988. The petitioner obtained another caste certificate, Annexure-4 from the Tahasildar, Puri and armed with such certificate met opposite party No. 3 on 27-1-88, but was informed that since he was a Scheduled caste belonging to the State of West Bengal, he was not entitled to be admitted against a seat reserved for Scheduled castes in Orissa. Since his repeated requests to admit him failed to persuade the authorities, he has found no other alternative than to approach this Court invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction. ( 2 ) A counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of all the opposite parties who are respectively the State of Orissa, the Director of Medical Education and Training, Orissa and Chairman of the Post Graduate Medical Selection Committee-cum-the Convenor of the Selection Committee justifying their stand of the petitioner being ineligible for admission as a Scheduled caste candidate. Reliance for the purpose has been placed on a communication from the Central Government to the Chief Secretaries of all States on 22-2-85 and a letter from the Deputy Director-cum-Deputy Secretary to the State Government, Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department to all the Heads of Departments and others on 7-7-85. In the first letter, Annexure-A, the Central Government has issued a directive that a Scheduled caste/tribe person who had migrated from one State to another for the purpose of employment, education, etc. is to be granted caste certificate by the prescribed authorities of the State of migration on production of a genuine certificate issued to his father by the prescribed authority of the State from which the migration has taken place and that such certificate shall be issued irrespective of the question whether he can be classified as a Scheduled caste tribe in that State. It was however made clear that such person shall be deemed to be Scheduled castes /tribes of the State of his origin and would be entitled to derive benefits in that State but not from the State to which the migration has taken place. It was however made clear that such person shall be deemed to be Scheduled castes /tribes of the State of his origin and would be entitled to derive benefits in that State but not from the State to which the migration has taken place. The second letter, Annexure-B, reiterates the same position that in accordance with the decision of the Government of India the Scheduled caste/tribe candidates belonging to other States are not eligible to benefit of education and employment in the State of Orissa even on production of prescribed caste certificate. It is thus urged by the learned Addl. Government Advocate that since the petitioner is admittedly a resident of the district of Nadia in West Bengal he cannot be regarded as a Scheduled caste of the State of Orissa and hence is disentitled to be admitted against a reserved seat in this State and that reservation contemplated under the prospectus in respect of Scheduled caste/tribe candidates can only mean reservation in favour of Scheduled caste/tribe population of the State which has also been clarified in the aforesaid Government decisions and hence the petitioner is not entitled to any relief. ( 3 ) IT has been strenuously contended by Mr. Sarengi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, that the petitioner being admittedly a 'namasudra' which caste is also a Scheduled one in the State of Orissa, no discrimination can be practised against him to refuse admission merely because he is a permanent resident of the State of West Bengal, since his father has been continuing as an employee of the Central Government in this State for a pretty long period and he has not only completed his entire education in this State but was also an employee of the State Medical Service. Reliance has been placed by him in support of his contention on ILR (1977) Madh Pra 423 Joginder Singh Bhatti v. Controller, Pre-Medical Examination (1973), Bhopal wherein it has been held that a person belonging to 'chamar' community which is a Scheduled caste both in Punjab and in Madhya Pradesh, is entitled to be regarded as a member of the Scheduled caste also of the State of Madhya Pradesh for the purpose of admission into the Medical Colleges of that State. ( 4 ) EVEN without deciding the question as to whether the petitioner is entitled to be treated as a Scheduled caste candidate in the State of Orissa and is entitled as of right to avail the privileges of such a candidate in the matter of admission to the R. H. S. course, we find that he is also entitled to the reliefs claimed on the plea of promissory estoppel. It is well settled in law that the principle of promissory estoppel applies with full force even to administrative actions of the State which strictly speaking do not give rise to contractual obligations between the parties and that if a citizen has acted upon an administrative assurance to his disadvantage, the State can be pinned down to its promise. All the Medical Colleges of the State are State-owned and admission in them is completely controlled and regulated by the Selection Committee constituted for the purpose by the Government. The prospectus issued by the Committee requires the candidates to make applications only in the prescribed form and declares that out of 113 seats available for the three year P. G. course including one year of R. H. S. for direct candidates, the number of seats reserved for Scheduled caste candidates is 17. Para 6. 2 thereof provides that the application in the prescribed form complete in all respects along with the attested copies of all documents required should reach the Convener and that as per para 6. 4. 4. any application received incomplete in any respect or after the prescribed date or addressed to any agency other than the Convener would be rejected and that no request for any alteration, addition, correction or modification, etc. of entries in the application would be entertained. Para 8 provides for eligibility categories of the applicants and sub-para 8. 1. 3 entitles the children of the employees of the Central Government to make application with a condition in para 8. 2 that such candidates are to submit certificates as to their category from the competent authority in the prescribed form. Para 18. 5 enjoins a selected candidate to produce all original documents at the time of admission with the condition that he shall be admitted only if all the documents are found to be in order after verification. 2 that such candidates are to submit certificates as to their category from the competent authority in the prescribed form. Para 18. 5 enjoins a selected candidate to produce all original documents at the time of admission with the condition that he shall be admitted only if all the documents are found to be in order after verification. The provisions of the prospectus nowhere stipulate the filing of a certificate in support of the claim of belonging to Scheduled caste though however a form of certificate is attached to the prospectus at page 13 thereof. The two earlier certificates preceding it in the same page as also the declaration form preceding them are shown to be in accordance with specific paragraphs of the prospectus, but the certificate to be furnished by the Scheduled caste/tribe candidates is not shown to be in accordance with any provision of the prospectus. Even such form does not show any restriction to obtain the certificate only from an officer of the State of Orissa even though it has been explained that the competent authorities for the purpose are the District Magistrate /additional District Magistrate/sub-Divisional Officer/tahasildar/additional Tahasildar. The next document of importance to be considered is the prescribed form of application, a copy of which has been filed as Annexure-5. The form shows a candidate as required to state as to whether he would like to be considered for a reserved seat and in such a case he is to attach an attested copy of certificate from the competent authority. Besides he is also to State the category to which he belongs as stated in paras 8. 1. 1 to 8. 1. 3. and to attach a certificate in support of his claim. Further he is also to fill up a column supplying his permanent address including his village, district, State and the Police Station. Para 15 of the application form details the enclosures to be made to the application and subparagraph 5 thereof stipulates that the candidate is to file attested true copy of the Scheduled caste/tribe certificate, if any. Further he is also to fill up a column supplying his permanent address including his village, district, State and the Police Station. Para 15 of the application form details the enclosures to be made to the application and subparagraph 5 thereof stipulates that the candidate is to file attested true copy of the Scheduled caste/tribe certificate, if any. ( 5 ) IT is the admitted fact that the petitioner had made the application in the prescribed form enclosing all the required certificates and that his application having been verified and found to be in order, he was not only called upon to participate in the Entrance Examination but was also selected and was called upon by Annexure-3 to take admission. In the application, the petitioner had mentioned himself as a Scheduled caste entitled to admission against a reserved seat and in support of that had attached the certificate as per Annexure-2. It is not the case of the opposite parties that the certificate is not in the form prescribed in the prospectus. The petitioner also never suppressed any fact from the authorities, inasmuch as he not only enclosed the certificate in pursuance of the requirement of the application form but also made a candid declaration regarding his permanent address being that of the district of Nadia in the State of West Bengal. This fact is not disputed. In addition to the certificate Annexure-2, he had also filed a certificate from the Tahasildar, Puri in the prescribed form when called upon to do so. Nowhere either in the prospectus or in the application form the petitioner had been directed to support his application only by a caste certificate issued by the competent authority of this State certifying that the petitioner is a Scheduled caste belonging to Orissa. Even in the intimation issued to him for taking admission, vide Annexure-3, it had been specifically stated as follows :"xx xx 2. You are eligible for admission if your claim is in order as per prospectus and the documents furnished by you with your application are found to be in order with the originals which you should submit to the Principal of the College at the time of your admission. All the terms and conditions prescribed in the Prospectus are binding on your part. xx xx 4. All the terms and conditions prescribed in the Prospectus are binding on your part. xx xx 4. You are required to produce the following documents in original if you belong to any one of the categories : - (a) Scheduled Caste certificate from the Dist. Magistrate/addl. Dist. Magistrate/sub- Divisional Officer/tahasildar/addl. Tahasildar of your district/sub-division Tahasil. " xx xx xx"the communication shows that no objection had been taken to the caste certificate filed by the petitioner and it was only required that he should produce the originals of the certificates for comparison of the certificates already filed by him and that he was entitled to admission if the originals so produced tallied with the certificates already filed. The direction in paragraph 4 of the letter to produce the Scheduled caste certificate from the District Magistrate/addl. District Magistrate/ Sub-Divisional Officer/tahasildar/addl. Tahasildar stood complied on production of the original of Annexure-2. In addition, the petitioner had also filed Annexure-4. Thus all the requirements in the prospectus, the application form and the intimation sent vide Annexure-3 had been complied with by the petitioner. Even further, basing on the representation made by the authorities intimating that he had been selected for admission, the petitioner had acted to his gross detriment resigning from Government service only in order to join the R. H. S. course. Thus refusal of admission to the petitioner on a ground which was not earlier informed to him has caused immense prejudice and irreparable injury to him and he has been apparently made to suffer for no fault of his. The petitioner was entitled to have believed bona fide that on presenting himself for admission he would be straightway admitted. It would be as such completely inequitable and against all sense of fairplay and justice to refuse him admission to which he had otherwise become entitled. There is no statutory bar for the petitioner's admission and Annexures-A and B cannot arrest the operation of estoppel against the opposite parties. ( 6 ) HAVING come to such conclusion, it is now to be seen as to what relief can be made available to the petitioner. The petitioner had been selected for admission to the subject of General Medicine and by order No. 8 dated 14-4-88 this Court had permitted the learned Addl. ( 6 ) HAVING come to such conclusion, it is now to be seen as to what relief can be made available to the petitioner. The petitioner had been selected for admission to the subject of General Medicine and by order No. 8 dated 14-4-88 this Court had permitted the learned Addl. Government Advocate to file a further affidavit by Monday next (18-4-88) indicating as to whether the reserved seats meant for the subject 'medicine and Psychiatry' have already been filed up and if not, how many seats are lying vacant. Such affidavit was not filed and the matter being brought up again on 25-4-88, the learned Addl. Government Advocate informed of his not being able to file the affidavit in question. On the contrary, the petitioner has filed a rejoinder affidavit averring that out of three seats reserved for Scheduled caste candidates in the subject 'general Medicine and Psychiatry', only two candidates had been selected of which the petitioner was one. The other candidate has already taken admission to the course at the V. S. S. Medical College, Burla. No Scheduled caste candidate had been selected for 'psychiatry' and that no waiting list was also prepared for the Scheduled caste candidates as required by clause 11. 3 of the prospectus. It has been further averred that the seat in respect of which the petitioner was selected is still vacant and would remain vacant for the entire period of three years and that in the event of admission of the petitioner, no prejudice would be caused to any other Scheduled caste candidate of the State. Such averments of the petitioner have not been controverted. In this view of the matter, I am of the view that the petitioner should be admitted to the R. H. S. Course as per the intimation issued to him under Annexure-3. In the event however the seats are filled up, the authorities are to accommodate the petitioner in a seat created for the purpose. In this view of the matter, I am of the view that the petitioner should be admitted to the R. H. S. Course as per the intimation issued to him under Annexure-3. In the event however the seats are filled up, the authorities are to accommodate the petitioner in a seat created for the purpose. ( 7 ) IN the result the writ petition is allowed and a mandamus be issued to the opposite parties directing admission of the petitioner to the R. H. S. Course in accordance with the intimations issued to him in Annexure-3 and in the event the seat allotted to him has been filled up and no other vacancy is available, the authorities are to create a further seat for accommodating the petitioner. Though the concerned University is not a party to this litigation and since some objection may be raised on behalf of the University for the delayed admission in question, we would make it clear that the University will condone the delay in question and accept the petitioner's admission to the college since the delay is not on account of any laches or negligence on the part of the petitioner. The direction of the Court be carried out within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of the other. ( 8 ) HEARING fee is assessed at Rs. 250/- (rupees two hundred and fifty ). ( 9 ) G. B. PATNAIK, J. :- I agree. Petition allowed. .