Supreme Court reserves order on plea regarding EWS quota in NEET-PG admissions

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The Supreme Court reserved its order on a plea related to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in connection with the NEET-PG admissions.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna asked the parties to file their written submissions for consideration. "We have been hearing this matter for two days, we must start counselling in the national interest," the bench said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the apex court that he would like to dispel the confusion that there is a change in the rules of the game midway. "Firstly, there is no change in the rules of the game. The regime which is the subject matter of this challenge is already implemented since 2019 except in the All India Quota," he submitted.

Senior advocates Arvind Datar and Shyam Divan appeared in the court on behalf of some of the candidates. Senior advocate P Wilson appeared for the Tamil Nadu government. The Centre had told the apex court on Wednesday that it would not accept a position whereby those falling in the OBC or the EWS category, whether before or after the exercise of revisiting the criterion of Rs 8 lakh annual income, are deprived of something that is legitimately due to them.

The NEET-PG candidates, who have challenged a July 29, 2021 notification for the implementation of the OBC and the EWS quotas from the 2021-22 academic year, opposed the government's justification of applying the Rs 8 lakh income criterion, saying no study has been conducted on it. Large-scale protests were held by resident doctors of various hospitals under the banner of the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) in Delhi and other parts of the country over the delay in the NEET-PG counselling, which has been postponed due to the pendency of the case and the Centre deciding to revisit the criterion for the determination of the EWS quota.

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