NEET All India Quota : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Fresh Petition Challenging OBC, EWS Reservations

The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna told Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for the petitioner, that the present petition will be tagged along with a similar petition filed earlier raising the same issue.

On September 6, a bench led by Justice Chandrachud had issued notice to the Centre on two writ petitions challenging the OBC, EWS reservations in NEET AIQ. Those petitions were directed to be listed on September 20.

The present petition, filed through Advocate on Record Vivek Singh, stated that the notification was in direct contravention of the Top Court's judgement in Union of India v R Rajeshwaran & Ors (2003) 9 SCC 294 and Union of India v K Jayakumar & Anr (2008) 17 SCC 478 in which the Court had held that requirement of reservation should not apply to seats of All India Quota.

"50% was a tool devised by this court to provide seats without any preference of any nature, solely on the basis of merits to students which is evident from the reading of the judgement in Dr Pradeep Jain v Union of India, UOI v R Rajeshwaran, UOI v K Jayakumar. It is clear that to overcome the difficulty of institutional preference & high percentage of this Hon'ble Court had directed 50% seats should be reserved in PG Medical Courses for AIQ which will be without any reservation," petition stated.

Seeking for quashing the impugned notification, the doctors had averred that the same would also defeat the entire purpose for which these seats were carved out and reserved.

Averting that the impugned notification will depricate merit & excellence in the field of medical education, the petition also stated that AIQ has been in existence since 35 years and application of OBC reservation would to AIQ seats would be arbitrary, unjustified and against public interest.

"Excessive reservation compromises the minimum standards of education. The Government's cannot compromise the standard of education or lower the efficiency of scholars to the detriment of national interest. In the larger interest of nation it is dangerous to depricate merit and excellence in any field," petition also stated.

Case Title: Madhura Kavishwar & Ors v Union of India & Ors