The Madras High Court on January 12 directed the state government to allocate 50 per cent of the super-speciality seats in DM/Mch courses in government medical colleges to in-service doctors in Tamil Nadu for the current academic year 2021-2022.

Justice M Dhandapani gave a direction to this effect while passing final orders on a writ petition from Dr D Suresh, Assistant Professor in General Medicine, Madras Medical College. After listening to arguments advanced by senior advocate P Wilson and advocate G Sankaran for the petitioner, the judge passed the orders for the implementation of an earlier government order dated November 7, 2020 which allocated 50 per cent of seats in super-speciality courses in favour of in-service doctors of Tamil Nadu, for the current academic year.

Earlier, the duo cited the orders dated August 31, 2020 of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association vs Union of India, which had held that the State was having legislative competence to provide for a separate source of entry for in-service candidates seeking admission to PG medical courses. Based on the same, the State government had issued the November 2020 GO, they told the judge.