No quota for inservice doctors to PG admission: SC in TN medical college reservation case
The Alapuzha Fast Track Court Judge, Anil Kumar, pronounced the verdict this morning. The court found that R Baiju was the main conspirator in the case and awarded the death sentence to him. The Alapuzha Fast Track Court Judge, Anil Kumar, pronounced the verdict this morning. The court found that R Baiju was the main conspirator in the case and awarded the death sentence to him.
The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to grant any interim relief on pleas by the Tami Nadu Medical Officers Association (TNMOA) and others seeking an exclusive quota for inservice doctors in the matter of admission to post graduate medical degree courses. “We are unable to accede to the request,” a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said rejcting the plea which sought stay of some clauses in the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations that provides for such reservation for in-service doctors in PG diploma course only.
The petitioners wanted that instead of granting incentive marks to government doctors, serving in remote and difficult rural areas, in PG admission, the state government should be allowed to continue with its own quota policy.
The bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, said the counselling process for admissions in PG courses would go on as per the MCI regulations and that the court’s final verdict will decide the fate of the admissions.
The regulation provided that doctors in government service may be given weightage as an incentive of up to 10 per cent of the marks obtained for each year of service in “remote and/or difficult areas or rural areas upto maximum of 30 per cent” of the marks obtained in NEET.
Regulation VIII, however, provides for 50 per cent reservation in seats in PG Diploma courses for government doctors. The doctors association had alleged that though 50 per cent quota for in-service doctors are allowed in diploma courses, the system of grant of incentive marks is adopted for granting admissions in PG courses.
Petitioners contended that the power of “the coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education” falls in the Union List and the fact that “medical education” comes under Concurrent List implies that states are not denuded of powers to legislate on the manner and method for admissions to PG medical courses.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar who appeared for the doctor’s body said a state was empowered to devise mechanism to allocate 50 per cent of its seats to candidates.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for MCI opposed this saying state cannot be allowed to “lower” the standard of selection of candidates by flouting the MCI regulations.
Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, representing the Centre, said the matter fell in the centre’s domain and the state could not legislate on it.
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