Supreme Court Says 10% EWS Quota Will Not Apply This Year For PG Medical Courses

The Court passes an interim order that the EWS quota introduced by the State of maharashtra won’t apply for this year as the process for which had already started in november 2018.

The Supreme Court on thursday passed an interim direction that the 10 economic quota introduced by the State of maharashtra for postgraduate (PG) medical courses in the State through notifications dated february 12 and March 7 won’t apply for this academic year, the method that had already started in november 2018.

A Vacation Bench led by magistrate of india Ranjan Gogoi said “we are of the view, at this stage, that though the State could act under the enabling provision contained in Article 16(6) of the Constitution, as introduced by the 103rd Constitutional amendment, unless additional seats are sanctioned by the Medical Council of india, the prevailing seats can’t be subjected to the provisions of the aforesaid Constitutional amendment by issuing appropriate notifications, as has been drained this case”.The Court aforesaid it’s open for the Medical Council of india “to sanction additional seats, if deemed fit”.

The two had extended the benefit of reservation to the extent of 100 pc to economically weaker sections (EWS) in postgraduate medical courses.

By the 103rd Constitutional amendment, Article 16(6) was inserted allowing States to make “any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clause (4), in addition to the existing reservation and subject to a most of 100 pc of the posts in each category.”

The Court’s interim direction came on a plea filed by a student Rajat Rajendra Agrawal from general class on whether the Constitutional amendment would apply to the ongoing admission process which had commenced within the month of november, 2018, that is, well before the approaching into force of the Constitutional modification (January, 2019) and the notifications of february and March, 2019.

“Not solely we have a tendency to area unit reminded of the time-tested principle of law that the modalities of selection cannot be changed once initiation of the method, in an exceedingly similar matter involving reservation of 16 pf seats for socially and educationally backward classes including the Indian community in the educational establishments within the State of geographical region in terms of provisions of the maharashtra State Reservation (of Seats for Admission in educational institutions within the State and for Appointments within the Public Services and Posts below the State) for Socially and Educationally Backward classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, the bombay high court had taken the read that the said Act having get force with effect from thirty.11.2018, couldn’t be created applicable to the very same admission process as the same had been initiated earlier i.e. on 2.11.2018,” the court observed.

The special leave petition against the said order of the bombay high court has since been dismissed by this Court.

Based on this, the Court took the tentative view on Th that the notification of the State of maharashtra on March 7, insofar as the admission to postgraduate medical courses worries, would haven’t any application to the ongoing method of selection, therefore on change the representatives of the economically weaker sections to avail of the benefit of reservation for admission to postgraduate medical courses.

The interim direction would continue until a final decision is arrived at by the Court in the proceedings.

“We have kept in mind the need to balance the competing claims which balance could be upset by claim of equity, if the reserved category candidates are allowed to undergo the medical course(s) and in the event their admission is found to be untenable at a later stage of the present proceedings,” the Bench
(THIS ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM THE HINDU)