HC adjourns plea on weightage marks to in-service candidates

The Madras High Court today adjourned to March 22, a petition seeking a direction to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to comply with the MCI rules on awarding weightage of marks to in-service candidates for service rendered in remote areas.

When the petitions filed by seven in-service doctors came up, Justice R Mahadevan adjourned it to March 22 after counsel representing the Medical Council of India (MCI) took note of it.

The petitioners sought a direction to the DGHS to comply with MCI's Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, with reference to awarding the weightage marks and reserving 50 per cent seats in PG Diploma courses for eligible medical officers in government service, in All India Quota Seats, based on the NEET PG 2018 examination.

The petitioners submitted that they were in-service candidates working as assistant surgeons in Tamil Nadu Medical Services and had appeared for the NEET-PG 2018 exam on January 7.

They said they had secured more than 50 percentile and been declared eligible for admissions to the PG medical courses.

Having served in remote areas as notified by the state government, they were entitled to weightage marks as per the MCI's PG Medical Education Regulations for seeking admission in All India Quota seats, they submitted.

However, DGHS was proceeding to conduct counselling for admission to the PG courses without awarding the weightage marks in violation to the MCI regulations.

Stating that the MCI rules provide for 50 per cent of seats in PG Diploma courses for those who have served at least three years in remote areas, the petitioner alleged that the DGHS has not adhered to it for admission in All India Quota seats.

They claimed that the admissions conducted by the DGHS last year proved it has not allotted the 50 per cent of seats for in-service candidates as required.

The petitioners made representations to the DGHS, requesting it to conduct counselling for admission to the PG Diploma courses in All India Quota seats in compliance with the MCI regulations.

As per the stipulated time schedule for the PG medical admissions, the first session of counselling should be conducted before March 31.

Therefore, the petitioners have filed the present plea, they added.