NEET PG 2021: Supreme Court junks plea challenging 40% in-service quota by West Bengal

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by doctors who appeared in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2021 challenging 40% reservation for in-service medical or dental officers brought in a notice issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal, the LiveLaw reported.

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The petition also sought the top court to issue directions to the department to provide the basis on which the 40% reservation was arrived at and to start the state counselling without the quota, the report said.

Petitioners had further sought for issuance of directions to the department to remove implementation of 40% quota and instead provide an incentive at the rate of 10% of the marks obtained for each year in-service in remote areas up to the maximum of 30% of the marks obtained.

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The bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai referred to a Supreme Court’s judgment that the state government and the legislature can fix quota for the PG diploma courses for in-service doctors, as per the report.

"If they have the power, why should we interfere with Ms Mathur? Now I think the counselling has been postponed," the bench said.

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The senior counsel submitted that the apex court had last year directed the counselling to begin without providing in-service reservation in super specialty courses.

The bench then pointed out that the said order was passed as the admission process was then in the final stages while in the current year, the counselling process is yet to begin.

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NEET PG counselling 2021 has been postponed due to a plea filed in Supreme Court challenging EWS and OBC reservation in medical and dental programmes. Several petitions of different kinds have been filed so far in the state courts as well as the top court regarding quotas given to different sections of the society.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) along with several other resident doctors’ associations have been on strike withdrawing services due to repeated delays and postponement of NEET PG 2021 counselling.