Maharashtra EWS quota: Plea in SC to allow PG Medical candidates to exercise change in option for admissions

The Medical College admission fiasco in Maharashtra is far from over with two fresh applications being filed before the Supreme Court seeking a modification of the Court’s order of June 4..In that order passed by the Bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and MR Shah, the Court had directed the State of Maharashtra to conduct a fresh and final round of counselling for admissions to the PG medical and dental Courses. The caveat affixed was that the aspirants will be allotted seats based on their original choices filled in the forms in March this year..The fresh counselling was itself ordered due to the order of the Supreme Court passed on May 30 which had stayed the resolutions passed by Maharashtra providing for 10 percent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of society..The Court, in its order passed on May 30, had observed that Since the admission process began in November last year and the Constitutional amendment for EWS quota was passed only in January this year, the same could not have a retrospective effect..This order paved the way for the deletion of the quota that the State of Maharashtra had already applied and thus more seats became available for students from the general category..However, when the State of Maharashtra failed to conduct fresh counselling, the Court passed a slew of directions on June 4 ordering the State to publish a fresh advertisement for the final round of counselling..The applications filed now, through Advocate Govind Jee, prays for a modification of the June 4 order to the effect that the students be allowed to exercise a change of their options and a fresh choice filling be called for with respect to all the seats, including those that were earlier earmarked for EWS quota. The application states,.“Modify/ Clarify the order dated 04.06.2019 passed by this Hon’ble Court in the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 733 of 2019 to the extent that the applicants (and other registered and qualified medical students) be permitted to exercise change of his/her options for allotment of seat(s) in the medical PG in the State of Maharashtra for the academic year 2019-2020 – by calling for fresh choice filling, on all seats – including seats reverted from EWS category to General Category; or seats be allotted to already registered and qualified medical students during manual (physical) counseling, in accordance with merit, as per available seat matrix -without insisting upon previous choice/ options exercised by the applicant(s)”.The application urges that the orders passed by the Supreme Court in this matter from time to time may not be complied with in true spirit until,.“the qualified medical students are permitted either – to exercise change in his/her options; or, the seats be allotted to qualified medical students, during manual counseling in accordance with merit, without insisting upon previous choice filling.”.When the matter was mentioned by Senior Counsel Sanjay Hegde today, the Vacation Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi agreed to list the matter on Monday, June 10..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.