Union govt. seeks opinion of States on implications of SC order on domicile quota in PG medical courses-OxBig News Network

Amid concerns that a recent Supreme Court (SC) order will abolish the residence-based reservation or domicile quota for admission to postgraduate (PG) medical courses within the State quota, the Union government has sought the opinion of all States, including Karnataka, on the implications of this.

The issue is set to be discussed with the Law Department and legal experts in Karnataka. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has already filed review petition against Supreme Court verdict on residence-based quota.

Current status

Currently, 50% of the PG medical seats are allocated by the National Testing Agency (NTA) under the all-India quota seats. The remaining 50% of the seats are given to the States. These seats are being allocated by the respective State governments to students on the basis of domicile quota and institutional reservation to students who have studied the MBBS course in State medical institutions for at least five years.

However, recently, the SC said that residence-based reservation or domicile quota in PG medical courses is to be done away with. Following this, all PG medical seats will be converted into all-India quota seats, and the NTA will allocate all seats on the basis of PG NEET ranking.

Now, the Union government has taken steps to collect opinions from the States on the impact of this order.

There are about 6,000 PG medical seats available in the State’s medical colleges, out of which about 3,000 seats are State quota seats. Out of these, about 1,600 seats are being allocated under domicile quota.

Speaking to The Hindu, Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education, said, “We will also discuss the impact of this verdict on the State with the Advocate General and convey our opinion to the Union government.”

Impact on Kalyana Karnataka?

Under the domicile quota, 70% of the government quota PG medical seats are being reserved under Article 371(j) of the Constitution for local students in medical colleges of Kalyana Karnataka region in the State. In addition, 8% of the seats have been reserved in other medical colleges in the State for these students. If the Supreme Court’s verdict is implemented, there is a fear that these seats will be lost.

However, Mr. Patil said that since this quota is a Constitutional guarantee, the verdict regarding the domicile quota will not affect on this reservation.

The case heard by the SC was an appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s finding that the reservation of 64 PG seats at a government medical college in Chandigarh, either for the residents of Union Territory or for those who have done their MBBS from the same college, was constitutionally invalid and a violation of the right to equality.