Admission in PG Medical Courses: SC strikes down EWS quota in Maharashtra

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Admission in PG Medical Courses: SC strikes down EWS quota in Maharashtra

The Supreme Court said the state could not apply it after the admission process had already begun in November 2018

Thursday May 30, 2019 12:14 PM, ummid.com & Analysis

New Delhi: In a setback for the Maharashtra government, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's decision to introduce 10 per cent quota for academic year 2019-20 in the postgraduate medical courses.

The apex court said the state could not apply it after the admission process had already begun in November 2018.

At least 25 candidates from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category would be affected with this decision of the top court.

The court said the Maharashtra government could not change rule of the game while the game was on.

It said the Medical Council of India (MCI) could have created more seats rather than giving away from presently available seats. As such, the court said that EWS is not applicable to the existing seats in medical courses in the state.

The court also observed that while passing the order it kept in mind "balance and claim of equity, which may come at later stage".

The counsel for the state cited the ordinance passed by the government, but the court did not entertain it.

Earlier in the last week, the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court had scrapped the applicability of Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) for the current year (2019). This has affetcted some 250 medical students who had secured admissions to various post-graduation courses in Maharashtra.

The affected students sat on protest following which the Maharashtra government on May 21 promulgated an ordinance on the issue. The Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2019, followed a recommendation by the Maharashtra government.

According to the ordinance, there will be reservations in favour of candidates belonging to SEBCs for the current academic year, 2019-2020, and also for admissions to other educational courses including undergraduate courses requiring the passing of NEET or any other national entrance test.

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