NEET PG Counselling: SC reserves judgement in OBC, EWS quota case

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgement on a matter challenging the central government and Medical Counselling Committee(MCC)'s notification providing 10% reservation to EWS and 27% reservation to OBC in all India quota medical seats.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgement on a matter challenging the central government and Medical Counselling Committee(MCC)'s notification allowing 10% reservation to EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) and 27% reservation to OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in all reserved medical seats across India.

The bench comprising of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna heard the matter at length both on Wednesday and Thursday even after the court hours. The court directed the parties to submit a note by Friday on their submissions and reserved its judgment.

The matter is crucial as NEET counseling, which was scheduled for October 25, was stayed by the top court as it had doubts on Rs 8 lakh income fixed by the Centre to determine the EWS(economically weaker section).

Postponing of counseling sessions left around 50,000 resident doctors anxious, leading to protests in Delhi where they were mishandled by the police on their way to the top court.

This was followed by Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, mentioning the matter before a Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana-led bench and seeking an urgent hearing on January 5 itself instead of January 6, for which it was adjourned earlier.

There was a batch of pleas that had challenged the Centre's decision to bring reservations, on which the apex court had also raised doubts and stayed the counselling after the Centre assured that it won't continue without further orders from the Supreme Court.