NEET-PG Counselling/ EWS/OBC Quota Case- Supreme Court To Continue Hearing Tomorrow

Solicitor: We as the government would request that we would not accept any position whereby OBC or EWS whether pre or post the exercise is deprived of something that is legitimately due to them. EWS notification was in force since Jan 2019. They have challenged it.

Justice Chandrachud: Mr.Solicitor, on the 25th of November, you said you will revisit the criteria. And you have filed your affidavit. So we need to give an opportunity to Mr.Datar and Mr. Divan to respond. We will ask them to be brief. We will hear them today and will hear you tomorrow.

Judges are now discussing amongst themselves.

Solicitor General says allow him to make submissions first.

Divan : We are the petitioners, we haven't addressed this bench.

Solicitor : This is very unfair my lords.

Datar suggests the application of old system for the present counselling, deferring OBC/EWS to next admissions.

Senior Adv P Wilson, for DMK, objects to this. OBC reservation can't be postponed, he submits.

Shyam Divan says apart from EWS, the petitioners have sought for stay on OBC quota as well.

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar says the petitioners have much to argue against the latest stance of the govt. "We have much to say on Rs 8 lakh criteria", Datar says.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan for petitioners making an intervention. He says that the 3-judge bench had heard the matter in part and asks if this 2-judge bench will hear the petitioners as well.

Justice Chandrachud says the 2-judge bench was constituted as the Solicitor sought an urgent hearing. This being a miscellaneous week, there is no 3-judge bench available, Justice Chandrachud says.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta takes the bench through the affidavit filed by the Centre on December 31, where the Centre said it has accepted the recommendations of the expert committee to retain the existing EWS criteria for ongoing admissions.

Bench takes the NEET case.

Item 24 over. NEET case at item 26.