NEET SS: Supreme Court allows 50% reservation for in-service doctors in Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has allowed the Tamil Nadu government to continue with the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) SS counselling 2021-22 to allocate 50% super-specialty seats in government medical colleges to NEET-qualified in-service candidates.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai vacated its interim order of November 27, 2020, by which it had directed that the counselling for admission to super-specialty medical courses for the academic year 2020-­2021 shall proceed without providing 50 per cent quota to in­-service doctors.

”We are of the view that no case is made out for continuing the interim protection which was granted for the academic year 2020­-2021 ... and thus, we reject the prayer in that regard. Needless to say that the state of Tamil Nadu would be at liberty to continue the counselling for the academic year 2021-2022 by taking into consideration the reservation provided by it as per the said GO,” Justice Gavai, writing the judgment, said. It then ordered a listing of a batch of petitions for further hearing after Holi vacation from Thursday.

The top court, on March 14, had reserved an interim order on the pleas challenging the Tamil Nadu government decision allocating 50% super-specialty seats in government medical colleges to NEET-qualified in-service doctors.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave had submitted that the government order was “completely unconstitutional” and “without any authority”. He referred to the clause which says that there is no reservation of seats for super-speciality courses.

The Tamil Nadu government had said the prescribing of quota for in-service candidates is a “separate source of entry and not a reservation” and it serves the laudable purpose sought to be achieved by making special provisions for such doctors who would be then available for serving in rural areas. Taking away the power of the state to provide for sources of admission would violate the federal structure and lead to complete centralization of policy-making in areas where the state is competent to make laws and policy, it had said.

(With inputs from PTI)