SC sets aside Madras HC observation on EWS reservation in medical admissions

The Supreme Court Friday set aside a Madras High Court direction that the Centre must seek the top court's approval before implementing 10 percent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in all-India quota (AQI) seats of medical colleges.

The apex court made clear however that it is not quashing the entire high court order passed on August 25 or stating any opinion on its merit but just setting aside the observations made concerning the top court’s approval on the EWS quota.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna said the high court should not have expressed such an opinion while hearing a contempt petition filed by the ruling DMK party in Tamil Nadu and it has “transgressed its jurisdiction”.

It said, ''What the Madras High Court has done is that it has asked the Centre to seek approval of a five-judge bench which will be hearing a challenge made to the validity of 103rd constitutional amendment providing 10 percent EWS quota''.

The high court cannot transgress its jurisdiction while hearing a contempt petition, it said.

The top court disposed of the Centre’s appeal against the Madras High Court order.

The bench said that it would hear on October 7, a batch of pleas challenging the Centre’s July 29 notification providing 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) and 10 percent for EWS category in NEET admissions for medical courses.

The top court directed Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre to file a joint counter-affidavit to the batch of petitions by October 6 and said it will be hearing the matter on October 7.

On July 29, the Centre had decided to provide 27 percent reservation for OBCs and 10 percent reservation for EWS in the All India Quota scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate medical/dental courses (MBBS/MD/MS/ Diploma/BDS /MDS).

On August 25, while disposing of the contempt plea of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party moved against the Centre for non-compliance of the earlier order, the Madras High Court had approved the July 29 notification providing 27 percent reservation to OBC candidates for admission in central medical colleges under the AQI.

The high court, however, had said the inclusion of a further 10 percent by way of vertical reservation for EWS would require the approval of the Supreme Court and to this extent, the reservation for the EWS, as indicated in the July 29 notification, has to be regarded as impermissible till such approval is obtained.

However, concerning 10 per cent reservation for EWS, the high court had observed: ''The additional reservation provided for economically weaker sections in the notification of July 29, 2021, cannot be permitted, except with the approval of the Supreme Court in such regard.'' Aggrieved by this, the Centre rushed to the top court on September 3 against the high court's observation.

The high court had approved the notification of the Centre providing 27 percent reservation to OBC candidates for admission in central medical colleges under the AQI.

However, it had rejected a plea for more reservations for Tamil Nadu and had said the reservation of AQI seats for admission to the undergraduate, postgraduate, and diploma medical and dental courses across the states must be uniform.

Logically, if the seats are given to candidates across the country, there cannot be reserved to one extent in one state and another extent in a different one, the Madras High Court had said.

''To the extent that 27 percent of the seats available for admission in Central educational institutions are reserved for OBC candidates other than the creamy layer, and such figure having been arrived at upon empirical studies being conducted, the provision of 27 percent reservation for OBC candidates in addition to the approved reservation for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe candidates as indicated in the notification of July 29, 2021, may be permissible subject to the formal approval of the Supreme Court,'' it had said.

The DMK had contended that the OBC candidates in the state must be made eligible for 50 percent reservation as envisaged under the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993.

The high court had then closed the contempt petition from the ruling DMK seeking to punish the central government officials concerned for not implementing an order of the High Court issued in July 2020.

It had added that the in-principle approval of the Supreme Court for providing reservation for OBC candidates under AQI for medical admission in the state is apparent from its order dated October 26, 2020.

To such an extent, the provision made for 27 percent reservation in such regard appears to be permissible, since the apex court approved the implementation of reservation for OBC candidates beginning from the academic year 2021-22 by the same order.

On the issue of a 10 percent quota for EWS category students, the high court had said that the reservation cannot exceed more than 50 percent as the Supreme Court judgment in the Indra Sawhney case had stated that the quota cannot exceed the cap unless there are exceptional circumstances.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)