NEET-PG admissions: SC allows counselling with 27 pc OBC and 10 pc EWS quota

The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the decks for postgraduate medical counselling and admissions including the Other Backward Classes OBC and economically weaker sections EWS reservations for the current academic year 202122A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna upheld the constitutional validity of 27 per cent reservation for OBC and 10 per cent EWS for the NEETUG and NEETPG However the top court added that it would decide on the rationale of criteria of Rs 8 lakh income for EWS category in March this yearOn Thursday after conducting a daylong hearing on petitions challenging the validity of EWS quota in postgraduate medical admissions and the Centres argument favouring the quota the court said there is a situation where in national interest the counselling has to begin which was also a key demand of protesting resident doctorsA bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna said We are in a situation where in the national interest the counselling has to beginSolicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre argued that all candidates eligible for the EWS quota as per existing criteria have got their certificates for registration and added that seats in all the government colleges have been increased to accommodate the EWS quotaSo this will not harm the chances of general category students he addedMehta also clarified that superspeciality courses have no reservation and none of the judgments remotely suggests that there cannot be reservation in PG courses On the aspect of the EWS quota he said there was a study application of mind and wide consultation when the government decided to fix the Rs 8 lakh income limitThe Centre has accepted the report of a threemember panel constituted to revisit the EWS criteria The panel in its report said Firstly the EWSs criteria relates to the financial year prior to the year of application whereas the income criterion for the creamy layer in OBC category is applicable to gross annual income for three consecutive yearsThe panel added Secondly in case of deciding the OBC creamy layer income from salaries agriculture and traditional artisanal professions are excluded from the consideration whereas the Rs 8 lakh criteria for EWS includes that from all sources including farming So despite being the same cutoff number their composition is different and hence the two cannot be equatedAfter hearing the parties in the matter the top court reserved its judgment on the petitions challenging the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes OBC and 10 per cent reservation for EWS in allIndia quota seats for postgraduate medical coursesAs many as 15 per cent seats in MBBS and 50 per cent seats in MS and MD courses are filled through allIndia Quota from the candidates selected through the NEETThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever