Doctors move HC for in-service quota in super-specialty courses -

Doctors move HC for in-service quota in super-specialty courses - 

The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.10.2020

Citing a most recent constitution bench judgment of the Supreme Court, a group of Tamil Nadu government doctors has moved the Madras high court for notification of 50% of vacancies for in-service candidates for admission to super-speciality medical courses this year.

G Sankaran, counsel for assistant professors of Royapettah government hospital M Syed Fahrudeen and G Kumaravel, wanted the court to restrain the authorities from conducting first round online counselling for admission to DM/MCh courses in the academic session 2020-21 without earmarking 50% of seats for inservice candidates.

When the plea came up for hearing, advocate general Vijay Narayan submitted that a decision will be taken by the state government in this regard at the earliest. He further informed the court that the director general of health services has issued a circular dated October 8 postponing the online counselling till further orders.

Recording the submissions, Justice N Anand Venkatesh adjourned the plea to October 16 for the state to inform its stand.

Earlier, Sankaran contended that as per a Supreme Court order dated August 31, the state has legislative competence and authority to provide them a separate source of entry for in-service candidates seeking admission to PG degree courses. “Hence, the Tamil Nadu government is requested to revive the allotment of 50% seats in PG medical courses and superspeciality courses for in-service candidates to enable government doctors in the state to acquire higher qualification by getting admission under in-service quota,” Sankaran said.

According to the petitioners, in 2017 all the states including Tamil Nadu stopped providing in-service quota in PG medical courses in view of a Supreme Court order which held that states cannot provide such quota as the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 does not even remotely indicate that a separate channel for admission into in-service candidates must be provided and 50% of seats are earmarked for PG diploma courses for in-service candidates.

Subsequently, the issue was referred to a larger bench which has now held that the state has power to provide in-service quota.