BREAKING| NEET-SS : Supreme Court Allows 50% Reservation For In-Service Doctors In Super-Speciality Courses In Tamil Nadu For 2021-2022 Academic Year

Background

Last year, vide order dated 27.11.2020, a Bench comprising Justices L. Nageshwara Rao, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi had directed that the counselling for admission to the Super Speciality Medical Courses for the academic year 2020-21 shall proceed without providing reservation for in-service doctors for the academic year 2020-2021. It had categorically stated that the said decision would only govern the admission process for the academic year 2020-21.

"We direct that the counselling for admission to Super Specialty Medical Courses for the academic year 2020- 2021 shall proceed on a date to be fixed by the competent authority without providing for reservations to in-service. doctors for the academic year 2020-2021. We reiterate that the above direction would be operative only for the current academic year i.e. 2020-2021."

The order dated 27.11.2020 was passed in a matter wherein a Kerala High Court order directing implementation of reservation to 40% of the seats in Super Speciality Medical Courses for in-service doctors was assailed before the Apex Court by the petitioners, who were post-graduate degree holders in Medicine and qualified the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), 2020 for admission to Super Speciality Medical Courses for the academic year 2020-2021. Another batch of petitions were filed challenging the 50% reservation at the Super Specialty level in Government Medical Colleges for in-service doctors in the State of Tamil Nadu.

The State of Kerala had filed an affidavit before the Apex Court stating it might not be possible to implement the reservations for in-service candidates for the academic year 2020-2021 as the admission process had already commenced.

The 3-Judge Bench noted that the process for admissions to Super Speciality Medical Courses started on 03.08.2020 and the candidates were informed that there would be no reservation to Super Speciality courses. The order issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu reserving 50% seats for in-service doctors was issued on 07.11.2020. The Bench had then specifically considered that with the admission process being at the final stages, it would not be possible to permit reservation for in-service doctors for the academic year 2020-2021.

On 01.11.2021, the NEET-SS 2021 Bulletin was released. Cause 10.10 of the Bulletin barred reservation in Super Speciality courses in terms of the Constitution Bench judgment in Preeti Srivastava And Anr. v. State of M.P. And Ors. (1999) 7 SCC 120 -

"62....

4. At the level of admission to the superspeciality courses, no special provisions are permissible, they being contrary to the national interest. Merit alone can be the basis of selection."

Clause 10.10 reads as under -

10.10.Reservation: As per judgment of the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court of India Writ Petition (C) No. 350 of 1998, there is no reservation of seats for super specialty DM/M.Ch. courses.

All the candidates appeared for the NEET-SS examination pursuant to the information bulletin which clarified that there would be no reservation. Attempts were made to implement the G.O. dated 07.11.2020 for the year 2021-2022. In view of the same, fresh writ petitions were filed challenging the 50% reservation for the academic year 2021-2022 in the State of Tamil Nadu. The result for NEET-SS had been declared on 31.01.2022. In the meanwhile, in writ petitions filed before the Madras High Court seeking enforcement of the G.O. dated 07.11.2020 had been allowed, which is at present under challenge before the Apex Court.

On 14.03.2022, when a Bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai heard the matters for interim relief, Senior Advocates, Mr. Dushyant Dave, Mr. Shyam Divan and Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for the petitioners submitted that their case was covered by a series of Constitution Bench judgments of the Apex Court, which had clarified that there is no reservation in Super Speciality Courses. The Additional Solicitor General, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati also argued against reservation.

Senior Advocates, Mr. C.S. Vaidyanathan and Mr. P. Wilson, appearing on behalf of the State and in-service doctors respectively, argued in light of the Constitution Bench judgment in Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association v. Union of India (2021) 6 SCC 568, wherein the Apex Court upheld the power of States acting under Entry 25 List III to enact special provisions for admissions for in-service doctors in medical courses including post-graduate courses. It further held that nothing in present law including those relatable to Entry 66 List I denudes the States of such power.

The Counsels for the petitioners had distinguished the decision in Tamil Nadu Medical Officer Association (supra) by stating that it was restricted to Post-graduate courses, whereas the Counsels for the respondents argued that Preeti Srivastava (supra) was concerned neither with in-service candidates nor with admission, but with relaxation of marks for reserved categories.

Advocate, Mr. Amit Anand Tiwari appearing for the State pointed out a practical difficulty. He stated that the non-service candidates do not stand by their bonds; they abandon their duty towards the State once they get admission to the Super Specialty Courses. Therefore, the State is unable to sustain institutions and hospitals due to lack of doctors. In view of the same, he argued that the special provision for in-service candidates serves a larger purpose.

[Case Title: N. Karthikeyan And Ors. v. State of Tamil Nadu WP (C) No. 53 of 2022 and connected matters]