NEET PG Counselling 2021 Live Updates: Supreme Court to hear on EWS, OBC quota tomorrow

The bench would continue hearing the NEET PG Counselling matter tomorrow immediately after fresh matters are over, Live Law reported.

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar challenging EWS reservation in NEET PG Counselling. He says that the Constitution amendment providing for EWS was notified on January 15, 2019.  Within three days the office memorandum specifying the EWS criteria came. Unlike the commissions for OBC reservations, there is no study undertaken for EWS reservations. "Though we are concerned with PG Studies, this applies to all India criteria. This criteria will apply to all institutions- IIT Admissions, other admissions in insitutions, it will apply everywhere, he says, as per Live Law.

DYC J: Mr Datar, has this been implemented anywhere else? Has this been applied to JEE also? Mr Nataraj what is the position?

Nataraj: It has been implemented in central institutions & appointments also.

Wilson: In states also this has been implemented. #NeetPGcounselling

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 5, 2022

Arguing that the NEET PG admission should be merit-based, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan says, “In many courses, postgraduate is the end of the road, and that is the super-speciality in some departments. So the principle regarding super-speciality courses will apply to postgraduate courses too.”

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan argues that the government's executive order cannot implement OBC, EWS quota in the AIQ which was created as per the Court's directions "An executive order cannot nullify a judgment of this court..this right is recognised and created by this court which is a facet of Article 14", Divan argues.

NEET postgraduate admissions must be completely merit-based and reservation must be minimal. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan refers to Supreme Court judgments which hold that there should be no reservation in super-specialty courses, Live Law reported

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for Centre has urged the Supreme Court to allow NEET counselling.

The introduction of reservations in NEET PG Counselling have taken away over 2500 seats available for the general category. This ought not to be applied in the present admissions,  Senior Advocate Shyam Divan says.

As per Live Law, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan on OBC reservation said: 

• The rules of the game cannot be changed in the middle, and that this reservation cannot be introduced through executive instructions as the All India Quota was carved out on the basis of judicial directions.
• The last date for registration of NEET-PG was March 15, 2021. After that date, the rules of the game cannot be changed.
• The original exam was scheduled in April. It was postponed to September due to the pandemic. 
• The notification for OBC/EWS quota was issued on July 29,

Saying that the reservation was introduced after the exam dates were announced, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan refers to July 29, 2021, a notification that introduced OBC, EWS quota. He says this amounted to "changing the rules of the game mid-way".

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan now starts arguing. His petition challenges the OBC, EWS quota in NEET-AIQ. He takes the bench through the background of the case. He says his main focus will be 27% OBC reservation in NEET PG Counselling 2021, Live Law reported.

"There are two difficulties for the counselling. If the counselling is done based on the report then our plea is dismissed at the threshold. When your lordships say allow counselling, does it mean allow admissions on Rs 8 lakh limit?," Senior Advocate Arvind Datar

As per Live Law, Solicitor General says, "Let us proceed with the NEET counselling. Let that stage be over. Your lordships may start hearing the matter in the meanwhile. I admit it was not your lordship's order which prevented counselling. When the statement was made, situation was not anticipated

Justice Chandrachud says, "Solicitor, on the 25th of November, you said you will revisit the criteria. We had said that the matter will be heard on Jan 6, and you filed your affidavit.  We'll have to give opportunity to Datar and Divan in brief."

DYC J: Then you can submit tom.
SG: We as govt would request that we would not accept any position whereby OBC or EWS whether pre or post the exercise is deprived of something that is legitimately due to them.#neetpg2021counselling #NEETPG2021

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 5, 2022

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar suggests the application of old system for the present counselling, deferring OBC, EWS to the next admissions. Senior Adv P Wilson, for DMK, objects to this and says OBC reservation can't be postponed, LiveLaw reported.

Shyam Divan says apart from EWS, the petitioners have sought for stay on the OBC quota as well. Senior Advocate Arvind Datar says the petitioners have much to argue against the latest stance of the govt. "We have much to say on Rs 8 lakh criteria", Datar says.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan for petitioners making an intervention. He says that the 3-judge bench had heard the matter in part and asks if this 2-judge bench will hear the petitioners as well. Justice Chandrachud says the 2-judge bench was constituted as the Solicitor sought an urgent hearing. This being a miscellaneous week, there is no 3-judge bench available, Justice Chandrachud says, as per Live Law report.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta takes the bench through the affidavit filed by the Centre on December 31, where the Centre said it has accepted the recommendations of the expert committee to retain the existing EWS criteria for ongoing admissions, Live Laew reported.

The Supreme Court hearing on NEET PG Counselling 2021 delay case begins.NEET PG Hearing Live: Supreme Court hearing begins

NEET PG Counselling Supreme Court hearing soon.

"The medical admission matter is listed today. There is some urgency in that", Justice Chandrachud tells Advocate Prashant Bhushan while adjourning the case (Item 23) challenging Rakesh Asthana's appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner, Live Law reported.

The bench is hearing item number 22 is being heard now, Live Law reported. NEET PG Counselling case is item 26, A two-judge bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna will hear the case shortly.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason, the Narendra Modi government postponed the NEET PG several times. It was finally conducted on September 11, after a delay of eight months. In July, the union government notified new quotas in postgraduate and undergraduate seats for the Other Backward Classes (27%) and Economically Weaker Sections (10%). The NEET PG counselling 2021 was scheduled to begin on October 25 but was postponed as the new reservation was challenged in the Supreme Court of India.

On December 25, FORDA said its members will be forced to go for "mass resignation" from services if NEET PG 2021 counselling dates are not announced and if their demands are not met at the earliest. The resident doctors who were protesting continuously for weeks decided to march towards the Supreme Court to expedite the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test postgraduate counselling (NEET PG Counselling 2021) hearing.

“The Indian Medical Association (IMA) president said that the health minister has assured us that the NEET-PG counselling will start before January 6, 2022. There will be no FIRs on the doctors," as per ANI. NEET PG Counselling 2021 dates are expected to be released soon on Medical Counselling Committee’s official website mcc.nic.in.

In other news, 21 students pursuing MBBS course from the Vijayanagar Medical college here have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Wednesday. According to college authorities, random tests were conducted among 250 students staying at a hostel, who were exposed to the virus, PTI reported.

The bench is now hearing item number 17. NEET PG Counselling hearing is scheduled as item number 26. 

NEET PG Counselling 2021 is expected to begin tomorrow. NEET UG Counselling 2021 dates also are expected to be released soon on Medical Counselling Committee’s official website mcc.nic.in. Candidates have to keep the following documents ready before the NEET PG Counselling begins.

• NEET 2021 admit card.
• NEET 2021 scorecard with rank.
• Class 10 and 12 marksheet.
• ID proof - Aadhaar card, PAN card, Driving License etc.
• Coloured passport sized photographs.
• Caste certificate and PwD certificate, if applicable.

The NEET PG Counselling case was posted today after the Central government sought an urgent listing in view of the protests by resident doctors against delay in NEET counselling. Centre has told the Court that it has decided to retain the existing criteria for EWS quota. 

SC hearing on NEET PG today

NEET PG Supreme Court hearing today, listed as item number 26. Earlier, FORDA said that the health minister agreed to the following demands in the meeting held on December 29.

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will submit the committee report to the Supreme Court of India before January 6, 2022, and will submit the NEET PG counselling schedule following the court hearing on January 6.
• The ministry regrets the brutal incident of violence by Delhi police against the resident doctors who were protesting peacefully on December 27, 2021.
• No punitive or disciplinary action will be taken against any resident doctors who took part in the agitation that commenced on November 27, 2021.
• A press conference and the official announcement of the proceedings of the meeting.

The three-member panel pointed out the important differences in how income is defined for EWS and OBC creamy layer. The panel said that to be qualified under the "creamy layer" among OBC, the household gross income should be above Rs 8 lakh per annum for three consecutive years, whereas to be eligible for EWS reservation, the beneficiary household income has to be below Rs 8 lakh in the preceding financial year. "This means that the EWS income criterion is much tighter, especially in the context of large sections of society with volatile non-salary incomes (shopkeepers, artists, farmers, micro-entrepreneurs etc)," it said.

The bench resumes hearing. Supreme Court hearing on NEET PG Counselling in the afternoon.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna will hear the case. The case is listed as item number 26. On Tuesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared in the court on behalf of the Centre, that the matter pertains to admissions to post-graduate medical courses and that students have been facing difficulties.

The bench will resume hearing at 1.30 PM. SC hearing on EWS, OBC quota in NEET PG Counselling is at item number 26. NEET case will be heard afternoon, Live Law reported adding that the top court is hearing case no. 16.

The SC hearing on NEET PG 2021 is expected to set new dates for NEET PG Counselling 2021, stalled due to a challenge to the OBC and EWS quotas. How many seats are involved in the matter in question? According to the Narendra Modi government's statement on the OBC, EWS quotas in all-India quota (AIQ) of seats from July 2021, these were the numbers of students it would benefit

Undergraduate (NEET UG): 

• OBC: 1,500 
• EWS: 550 

Postgraduate (NEET PG): 

• OBC: 2,500
• EWS: 1,000

As the NEET PG Supreme Court hearing is listed today, a day before the scheduled date, it is expected that the NEET PG Counselling will begin from tomorrow. “The Indian Medical Association (IMA) president said that the health minister has assured us that the NEET-PG counselling will start before January 6, 2022. There will be no FIRs on the doctors," as per ANI.

Health Minister has assured us that the NEET-PG counseling will start before 6th Jan'2022. There will be no FIRs on the doctors. There is no need to panic for the new variant of Covid, but all precautions should be taken: Sahajanand Prasad Singh, IMA President pic.twitter.com/QUgN2ePP0G

— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2021

The main reason for the postponement in the NEET PG 2021 counselling date is the years of denial of reservation for the OBC in the all-India quota of undergraduate (MBBS) and PG medical seats. 

Read More | Explainer: All you need to know about OBC reservation in AIQ medical seats

NEET Counselling 2021 for UG and PG courses have been delayed for the All India Quota. The NEET PG 2021 and NEET UG 2021 counselling schedule is expected to be announced by today evening, based on the Supreme Court's decision on NEET PG Counselling 2021.

The SC agreed to hear NEET PG Counselling dates delay case today, January 5, 2022, after the Centre on Monday requested the top court to schedule a hearing in a matter related to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota, citing "some urgency". The matter was earlier listed for hearing on January 6.

The bench is hearing item number 12. NEET PG Counselling case hearing is listed as item number 26, Live Law reported on NEET PG 2021. The case was posted today after the Central Government sought an urgent listing in view of the protests by resident doctors against the delay in NEET PG Counselling dates 2021.

In other news, Delhi High Court will hear a plea to postpone the UPSC Civil Services Mains exam amid rising Covid-19 cases tomorrow, Live Law reported.

NEET UG Counselling 2021 dates are expected to be released soon on Medical Counselling Committee’s official website mcc.nic.in. The MCC had earlier hinted on delay in NEET UG Counselling 2021 due to the pending NEET PG Counselling Supreme Court hearing. 

Maharashtra NEET counselling 2021 registration can be done till January 5, 2022, up to 11.59 pm. Maharashtra MBBS/BDS admission form will be available at info.mahacet.org/CAP2021/NEET_UG. The Directorate of Medical Education (DME), Mumbai released the application form of Maharashtra MBBS BDS 2021 on December 30. Only the eligible candidates who will qualify the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam can appear for the Maharashtra MBBS, BDS admission process.

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released the information brochure of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Masters of Dental Surgery - NEET MDS 2022 - at nbe.edu.in. The NEET MDS 2022 information brochure has been released with changes in the application fee, exam timings and test centres.  

On December 25, FORDA said its members will be forced to go for "mass resignation" from services if NEET PG 2021 counselling dates are not announced and if their demands are not met at the earliest. Scores of resident doctors in Delhi also lit 'diyas' to register their protest, even as patient care remained affected at various facilities in the city. The resident doctors who are protesting continuously for weeks decided to march towards the Supreme Court to expedite the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test postgraduate counselling (NEET PG Counselling 2021) hearing.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason, the Narendra Modi government postponed the NEET PG several times. It was finally conducted on September 11, after a delay of eight months. In July, the union government notified new quotas in postgraduate and undergraduate seats for the Other Backward Classes (27%) and Economically Weaker Sections (10%). The NEET PG counselling 2021 was scheduled to begin on October 25 but was postponed asthe new reservation was challenged in the Supreme Court of India.

Read | Year-Ender 2021: How a NEET PG aspirant handled the year of delays

The Supreme Court will soon hear the NEET PG counselling case. The decision will impact more than 42,000 aspiring doctors. NEET UG candidates are waiting for the counselling dates to be announced by the MCC as the top court will soon decide on EWS, OBC quota.

NEET PG, UG Counselling dates soon

The Supreme Court bench is hearing item number 9 now. NEET PG Counselling case is item number 26. A two-judge bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna will hear the case, the Live Law reported.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will conduct four rounds of counselling for All India Quota (AIQ) seats in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG and PG 2021 and vacant seats will not go back to the state quota after the second round of counselling. MCC disclosed its plan of changing the counselling process as part of an affidavit submitted in the Kerala High Court in a case filed against it by a candidate, Nihila PP.

NEET UG Counselling 2021 dates are likely to be released soon by Medical Counselling Committee on the official website mcc.nic.in. The MCC had earlier hinted on the NEET UG Counselling 2021 due to the pending NEET PG Counselling hearing in Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will today hear the EWS, OBC reservation case today. The hearing is likely to be followed by the commencement of NEET PG Counselling 2021 and the announcement of NEET UG counselling dates. A two-judge bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna will hear the case.

NEET PG Counselling: Crucial hearing today in the Supreme Court in cases related to EWS/OBC reservation in NEET-AIQ. A 2-judge bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud to hear the case post 10.30 AM.

Supreme Court Decision On NEET PG Today 2021: Delays in NEET PG and counselling meant doctors like Varshini Chandrasekaran lost a whole year of their careers. She feels the constant postponements affected her preparation and may have even cost her a seat in surgery at the medical college of her choice. 

Read More | How a NEET PG aspirant handled the year of delays

Varshini Chandrasekaran feels her performance in NEET PG 2021 would have been better without the delays

The NEET PG Counselling case was posted today after the Central government sought an urgent listing in view of the protests by resident doctors against delay in NEET counselling. Centre has told the Court that it has decided to retain the existing criteria for EWS quota.

The case is listed as item 26 before the bench led by Justice Chandrachud. The bench commences sitting at 10.30 AM.

Follow this thread for live updates from #SupremeCourt#NEETPGCounselling #NEETPG pic.twitter.com/LBEzGzA90v

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 5, 2022

More than 42,000 aspiring doctors are awaiting the Supreme Court verdict, as the top court is scheduled to hear the EWS, OBC reservation in connection with the NEET PG 2021 counselling delay case soon. NEET PG hearing is scheduled as item number 26, reported Live Law NEET PG 2021.

In other news, the Supreme Court upholds Manipur High Court’s order approving the decision of Manipur University to reduce reservation in admission for SC candidates from 15% to 2% and increasing for STs from 7.5% to 31%, in terms of an amendment to Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006, Live Law reported.

In view of rising Covid-19, Omicron cases in India, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has announced that it is cancelling winter vacation from January 5 to January 10. AIIMS has also asked faculty members to join duty with immediate effect, as per the Live Mint report.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi 

In 2021, Covid-struck Kerala recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases throughout the year. The state remained under curfews and lockdowns longer than most other states. This, along with debates and protests over offline exams, threw the academic cycle of the state completely out-of-gear. In consequence, Kerala’s MBBS students who were to complete their internships by April 2022 will now do so in August 2022 and, therefore, not in time for NEET PG 2022. If the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBE), which conducts the exam, retains the same eligibility criteria for the 2022 exam, the Kerala students may be barred from writing it, a problem that they say will be unique to the state.

Read | Why Kerala’s MBBS students may miss NEET PG 2022

SC to soon hear NEET PG 2021 Counselling case

The Supreme Court will take up cases in the order. Item number 1 is being heard now. NEET PG 2021 counselling case is item number 26, the Live Law reported.

The three-member panel pointed out the important differences in how income is defined for EWS and OBC creamy layer. The panel said that to be qualified under the "creamy layer" among OBC, the household gross income should be above Rs 8 lakh per annum for three consecutive years, whereas to be eligible for EWS reservation, the beneficiary household income has to be below Rs 8 lakh in the preceding financial year. "This means that the EWS income criterion is much tighter, especially in the context of large sections of society with volatile non-salary incomes (shopkeepers, artists, farmers, micro-entrepreneurs etc)," it said.

From the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, people have written to Prime Minister Modi seeking his intervention and urging him to resolve the issue soon as the protests turned violent. “The doctors of the center have been on strike for several days. They served in Corona by risking their lives. Corona is rising again. They should be in the hospital, not on the streets. We strongly condemn the police brutality inflicted on them. The PM accept their demands soon. my letter to PM,” Kejriwal said.

केंद्र के डॉक्टर कई दिनों से हड़ताल पर हैं। इन्होंने कोरोना में अपनी जान की बाज़ी लगाकर सेवा की। कोरोना फिर बढ़ रहा है। इन्हें अस्पताल में होना चाहिए, ना कि सड़कों पर

इन पर जो पुलिस बर्बरता की गई, हम उसकी कड़ी निंदा करते हैं। PM साहिब इनकी माँगे जल्द मानें। PM को मेरा पत्र pic.twitter.com/yE5waHecAz

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 28, 2021

Calling it a ‘black day’ for the medical fraternity, the resident doctors association in a letter to the health minister yesterday late evening wrote, “The medical fraternity has shown exemplary sacrifice for the nation at a time when Covid-19 pandemic was running carnage through the country. Thence, the same workforce feels backstabbed and betrayed by the duplicity of the lawmakers and police on the issue of NEET PG Counselling.”

Resident doctors condemned the alleged attack by Delhi police (Source: Twitter)  

After the All India Institute of Medical Sciences resident doctors’ association (AIIMS RDA) condemned the “atrocities of police against the doctors who were protesting peacefully for expediting the NEET PG Counselling for admission of more than 42,000 doctors”. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the PM Narendra Modi-led government for the police action against resident doctors in the national capital who took to the streets to protest the delay in NEET-PG counselling. 

Due to repeated delays and postponement of NEET PG counselling 2021, resident doctors across the country on November 27 announced to call for nationwide withdrawal of Out Patient Department (OPD) services. On November 18, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) had written to the Chief Justice of India to expedite NEET PG counselling 2021 process but it went in vain. However, recently, union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that MoHFW will try to expedite the NEET PG 2021 counselling case.

On October 21, the top court asked the Centre whether it would like to revisit the limit of rupees eight lakh annual income fixed for determining the EWS category. On October 25, MCC put NEET PG counselling 2021 on hold due to the pending case. After a month, on November 25, the Centre told the Supreme Court that it has decided to review Rs 8 lakh criteria for determining EWS category in NEET All India Quota (AIQ) and will come up with a fresh decision within four weeks. Following this, the NEET PG 2021 Counselling was put on hold and the Centre formed a committee to review the criteria.

Read | ‘Even 1 year is crucial’: Why delay in NEET PG counselling has led to doctors' strike today

Candidates who wrote the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG 2021) have lost practically a year of their careers. On September 17, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a batch of pleas against the July 29 notice providing 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category in 15% UG and 50% PG All India Quota seats (MBBS or BDS and MD, MS, MDS) with effect from the academic session 2021-22.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) on December 11 indicated that the NEET UG 2021 counselling may further delay as the plea challenging EWS and OBC reservation in AIQ quota is still pending in the Supreme Court. “All candidates desiring to participate in NEET-UG, 2021 Counselling are hereby informed that the Office Memorandum dated 30.07.2021 is under challenge before the Supreme Court of India," the MCC said in an official notice.

On December 31, the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) has called off the strike over delay in NEET PG 2021 Counselling considering various factors including patient care. The decision was taken by the resident doctors’ association after the meeting with the health ministry and Delhi Police. Earlier, the resident doctors across the country intensified their agitation and sought the withdrawal of police cases lodged against some of their colleagues. However, FORDA called off the strike stating that the health minister agreed to the following demands in the meeting held on December 29.

Resident doctors in Delhi lit up 'diyas' to register their protest over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that the Rs 8 lakh income criterion for determining the Economical Weaker Section (EWS) is much more stringent than the one for the OBC creamy layer. The government, which has accepted the report of a three-member panel constituted to revisit the EWS criteria, said that firstly, the EWS' criteria relates to the financial year prior to the year of application whereas the income criterion for the creamy layer in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category is applicable to gross annual income for three consecutive years.  

After the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) has called off the strike over delay in NEET PG 2021 Counselling on December 31, the Centre on January 3 requested the Supreme Court on Monday to schedule a hearing in a matter related to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in connection with the NEET-PG admissions on Tuesday, citing "some urgency".

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the EWS, OBC reservation in connection with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test postgraduate (NEET PG 2021) counselling delay case today, January 5, 2022.

Supreme Court