DR. SNEHELATA PATNAIK AND ORS. vs STATE OF ORISSA AND ORS.

The Supreme Court dismissed the writ petition and special leave petitions, while suggesting that authorities consider giving a weightage of up to 5% marks to in-service candidates who have completed five years of rural service. The Court distinguished the case from Dr. Dinesh Kumar & Ors. v. Motilal Nehru Medical College, noting that the previous observations regarding weightage for rural service do not constitute binding ratio and are not applicable to state-level selections. The Court clarified that the suggestions made do not confer any legal rights on the in-service students.