During the hearing on the on the application of EWS and OBC quotas for national level postgraduate medical admissions, a two-judge Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna said that the counselling (seat allotment) procedure must be carried out “in national interest”: “We are in a situation, where in the national interest, the counselling has to begin”
Among the various arguments submitted, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, stated that the candidates who have taken the entrance exam have registered under EWS category, where applicable, under the existing criteria, i.e., with an income cap of ₹8 lakh annually.
Mehta also told the court that there is no reservation in super specialty courses, as per earlier Supreme Court judgements, but there was no provision prohibiting reservations in PG courses, and that seats had been increased to include EWS category admissions without ‘harming the chances of general category candidates.’
On the other hand, senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing a section of the candidates, argued against provision of reservations in medical postgraduate admissions.
The Federation of Resident Doctors (FORDA), represented by Archana Pathak Dave, raised the point of a shortage in healthcare and medical workfrce, saying that the admissions of 45,000 doctors through NEET-PG had been delayed.The FORDA had led the recent Resident Doctors' protests in some hospitas of Delhi demanding
The court then reserved its judgement on the applicability of EWS and OBC quota in the All India Quota (AIQ) through which admissions to 15% seats in MBBS and 50% seats in MS and MD courses are conducted.
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