Staff Reporter:

The 16% reservation applicable for admissions started only after Nov 30 last

IN A major victory for medical and dental students opposing excessive reservation in post graduate courses introduced after the process was initiated, Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the 16 per cent reservation provided for Maratha community under Special Economic Backward Class (SEBC) for current academic year.

The High Court also set aside the seat matrix prepared on March 27 taking into account the reservation introduced mid-way for SEBC disregarding the rule and directed the authorities to prepare fresh selection list as per norms. The reservation can be made applicable to other courses where the process started after the reservation was declared, subject to decision of other petitions pending before Mumbai bench.

A division bench consisting of Justice Sunil Shukre and Justice Pushpa Ganediwala while pronouncing the order on Thursday afternoon, permitted the DMER to go ahead with medical and dental admissions on the basis of March 8, 2019 notification only for the courses whose process was initiated on or after November 30, 2018 (when Maratha reservation was introduced).The notification will have no application to the process of admission which began on October 16 (Dental) and November 2 (Medical), 2018. This is a huge setback to the supporters of excessive reservation in medical and technical courses.

The student community had staged massive protests against the excessive reservation introduced last year by the State Government pointing out that open category students were left with hardly any seats. The petitioner-students had strongly questioned the legality of reservation provided for Maratha community mid-way, putting future of aspirants in a lurch. According to them, retrospective application of reservation has led to excessive r e s e r v a t i o n which is not permissible as per the Supreme Court’s order and is a Himalayan blunder. The State Government countered the argument citing inordinate delay by the petitioners in approaching the constitutional court while claiming that even while notifying the admission process and number of vacant seats,the State Governmenthad calculated the reservation for Maratha community to avoid any controversy and confusion. The petitioner claimed that the law providing 16 per cent reservation in public, private aided and unaided educational institutions came into force from November 30, 2018, two months after the process was started.

This 16 per cent has to be calculated in relation to total seats available in the institution while other reserved seats are concerned,the calculations of reserved seats are made as per available seats and not in relation to total seats, which is persediscriminatory and unreasonable. Thegravityof situationcame to fore on March 27 when seat matrix was made public. In the entire Vidarbha region, due to existing reservation only 72 post graduate medical seats were left for open category and that number came down to only 22 after this additional 16 percent reservation which was barely 5.96 per cent. For PG dental courses, only 9 out of 37 seats in government and aided colleges, and only 22 out of 383 seats in private colleges were for the open category. For MD, MS courses 233 of 972 seats in government and aided colleges and 37 of 469 seats in private colleges were for open category. Senior Counsel Subodh Dharmadhikari and Adv Ashwin Deshpande appeared for the petitioners.

Senior Advocate Sunil Manohar, GP Sumant Deopujari and Addl GP Ketaki Joshi (state), Adv Nahush Khubalkar (MUHS) represented respondents. Adv Ashutosh Dharmadhikari, Adv Shriram Pingle and Adv CB Dharmadhikari appeared for intervenors. Govt to move SC today THE Maharashtra Government will move the Supreme Court on Friday to seek a stay on the order passed by Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Maratha quota applicable in PG medical admissions.

The HC ruled, on Thursday, that the 16 per cent reservation for the Maratha community under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) category will not be applicable for post-graduate medical courses this year. Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil told reporters that the Government will move a petition in the apex court on Friday to obtain a stay on the High Court order. “Though the admission process for the PG medical courses started early the actual implementation started only after the SEBC quot a was introduced. We will seek a stay on the order on this contention,” Patil said. The Minister added that an ordinance will be introduced to make necessary changes in the legislation as soon as the Model Code of Conduct is over.