SC issues notice on PIL against medical quota

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Union government’s response on its decision to introduce 27% reservation for other backward classes and 10% for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the all India quota (AIQ) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical/ dental admissions from this academic year. The response has to be filed within two weeks.

The court order came on two separate petitions filed by 27 doctors who claimed the notification of July 29 issued by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was bad in law and arbitrary.

The petitions, argued by senior advocates Arvind Datar and Vikas Singh, pointed out that with the reservation policy, the total reservation will exceed the 50% ceiling fixed by the Supreme Court in its landmark 1992 verdict. The 50% ceiling was later upheld in subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court.

The 27% OBC quota and 10%

EWS quota would apply to 15% AIQ seats in the MBBS/BDS courses and to 50% AIQ seats for MD/MS/MDS courses. As the effect will be felt largely on postgraduate medical seats, the petitioners said, “the impugned notice (of July 29) for the current academic year will severely harm the future of lakhs of students who had no knowledge of the said reservation policy, while they registered for the exam in February this year.”

The common entrance for PG medical/dental courses is scheduled for September 11.

A bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli issued notice to MCC, the ministry of health and family welfare, and National Board of Examination, and posted the matter after two weeks.

There is already reservation for Scheduled Castes (15%) and Scheduled Tribes (7.5%) under the AIQ. With the addition of OBC quota (non-creamy layer) and EWS quota, the total reservation will exceed 50% and touch 64.5% (including 5% reservation for persons with disability).