The Supreme Court on June 3 agreed to hear tomorrow the pleas of some medical students who are seeking fresh round of counselling after the re-drawing of merit list for admissions to the post graduate medical and dental courses in Maharashtra for the 2019-20 academic year.



A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah, which was reluctant initially to hear the fresh plea, agreed to hear it on June 4. One of the fresh pleas filed by Sagar Sarda said that "new seat matrix", "fresh choice filing of medical streams" and "fresh round of counselling for admissions" should be allowed in view of the fact that the apex court has stayed the 10 per cent quota to students of economically weaker sections (EWS) in the courses for the current academic year.

"What is troubling us the deadline of May 31 which has been fixed by this court for concluding the admission process for PG medical and dental courses," the bench said, adding that the students should not be running from "one court to another court" for this purpose.

Another fresh plea has been filed some other medical students seeking restoration of 10 per cent EWS quota in admissions in the current academic session. The apex court had earlier threatened contempt proceedings against Maharashtra government officials for "virtually overriding" its order staying 10 per cent quota to students of EWS in admissions to PG medical and dental courses in 2019-20.

It had also extended till June 4 the deadline for concluding the admission process asking the Maharashtra government to refresh the merit list after excluding the EWS category students. The top court had taken strong note of a clause of the notice issued by the state government's Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell on May 30 after it had passed the earlier order.

The clause reads: "The admissions of all the candidates (except those admitted under EWS Category) from the previous admission process are not disturbed."  The state government had said there was little time left as the last date of counselling for admissions was ending on May 31 and therefore, it was not possible for the government to reshuffle the entire admission list. He had sought some more time for re-drawing merit list.

The apex court had said: "The authorities are hereby directed to complete the process of admission including reshuffling on implementation of Notice...and considering the interim order passed by this Court on May 30... "In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we extend the time to complete the counselling and to complete the admission process in PG medical and dental courses for the Academic Year 2019-20 as directed above up to June 4, failing which a very serious view shall be taken for not complying the interim order passed by this Court in its true spirit." 

The apex court had earlier stayed the Maharashtra government's notification granting of 10 per cent quota to students of EWS in admissions to post graduate medical and dental courses in academic year 2019-20. The admissions for the 2019-20 academic year were to close on May 31.

The balance between the competing claims of parties involved will be upset if the reserved category students are allowed to take admissions in the PG Medical course and at later stage their admissions were found to be untenable, it had said. The court's order had come on a plea of Rajat Rajendra Agrawal and two others, all students from General Category claiming that unless additional seats are created, the ten per cent EWS quota will eat into their share of seats.

The students have challenged two circulars of the Maharashtra government by which 10 per cent EWS quota was enforced in PG medical and dental courses of the state. They have sought a direction to the state not to implement 10 per cent reservation for EWS across all classes in the post-graduate medical and dental courses this academic year.