Plea in HC to follow 27% reservation for OBC students in medical colleges

The plea was filled by National Union of Backward Classes, SCs, STs and Minorities (NUBC)

A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Centre to follow 27 per cent reservation of seats for OBC category candidates in medical and dental colleges for this academic year.

The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday.

The petition, filed by National Union of Backward Classes, SCs, STs and Minorities (NUBC), said in two academic years alone -- 2017-18 and 2018-19, around 5530 seats which would have gone to OBC category, if reservation procedure was followed, were allotted to general category.

Giving reservations in the courses to economically weaker sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes and Schedduled Tribes categories and failure to give the reservations in admissions to the students belonging to Other Backward Castes communities (OBC) in these courses (medical) is a clear violation of article 14 of the Constitution, the plea filed through NUBC General Secretary S Geetha, said.

It alleged that after the NEET results, that were published for the year 2020, it was learned through various news reports that the 27 per cent of the reservation to the OBCs was not followed in the admissions to medical and dental college seats surrendered by the state government to the all India quota of the Union government.

In every academic year, 15 per cent of UG (MBBS and BDS) seats and 50 per cent of PG (MD, MS MDS, etc) seats from the medical colleges of state government will be given to the Union Government under All India Quota and the Union government will fill these seats according to its own procedure, the plea, filed through advocate A Rajarajan, said.

The plea claimed that the Ministry of Health and family Welfare, through its departments like Director-General of Health and family welfare, Medical Counselling Committee, has discriminated against the OBC students.

It said the petitioner has given a representation to the authorities on May 17, praying to ensure 27 per cent reservations to OBC category students in the medical courses but there was no proper reply from the ministry and since the admission procedure is going to start at the earliest, they have filled the petition.

The petition sought direction to the Ministry of Health to consider the petitioner's May 17 representation pending before it as a matter of grave urgency and dispose it of at the earliest.