SC: No 50% quota in super-specialty course for govt docs

SC: No 50% quota in super-specialty course for govt docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:28.11.2020

There will be no 50% reservation for government doctors in super-specialty medical courses this year, as the Supreme Court on Friday ordered completion of the counselling for 2020-21 without providing the quota.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi passed the order without expressing any opinion on the validity of the order passed by the TN government providing the reservation from the current academic year. The bench, which heard the submissions of senior counsel Dushhyant Dave, C S Vaidyanathan and P Wilson, also made it clear that this order would be operative only for the current academic year.

The orders were passed on a special leave petition moved in the court by private doctors Prerit Sharma and others challenging the order of a division bench of the Kerala high court providing 40% reservation for in-service candidates.

It was also pointed out that the TN government has also passed a GO providing for the quota from the current academic year. When the plea came up for hearing, Dushyant Dave for the petitioners said it is settled law that there cannot be reservation of any kind in admission to super-specialty courses.

He said the information bulletin had made clear to candidates that there shall be no reservation for admission to super specialty courses. “Rules of the game cannot be changed midstream and no reservation can be provided for this academic year as the procedure for selections for admission to super-specialty courses commenced a long time back,” he added.

Supporting the state, senior counsel P Wilson said it was incumbent on the part of the National Medical Commission and the Centre to implement the law laid down by the court by providing for reservation for inservice doctors in super specialty courses.

Representing Tamil Nadu, senior advocate CS Vaidhyanathan said there are 369 seats in super specialty courses in the state and that around 70% of doctors who are trained in the state do not serve in the state. “While huge amounts are expended on each doctor for their training in the super specialty courses the people of the state do not get benefit of their services,” he said. The in-service doctors have an obligation to serve the state till the date of retirement, he added.

Counselling for MBBS, BDS to resume on Monday

Counselling for MBBS and BDS admission in Tamil Nadu will resume on Monday. It was postponed after the first day in view of Cyclone Nivar.

Counselling will be held for general rank students from 362 to 751. Students from rank 752 to 1,203 have been called for counselling the next day. The selection committee has released the schedule till Thursday, where 5,441 students have been called.

The counselling will open with 2,440 seats, including 557 seats in the open category in government colleges, and 1,060 seats in self-financing colleges.