The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Allahabad High Court judgment quashing an Uttar Pradesh government order providing a 30 per cent quota in admission to postgraduate medical courses to government doctors who have served in rural areas.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur held that “incentive marks” of up to 30 per cent of total marks can be awarded to such doctors in admission tests for PG Medical courses, as provided in the Medical Council of India Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations.
“We must hold that the High Court was justified in quashing the government order providing for reservation to in-service candidates, being violative of Regulation 9 as in force,” the Bench said.
Modified direction“However, we modify the operative direction given by the High Court and instead direct that the admission process from the academic year 2016-17 to the postgraduate degree course in the State should proceed as per Regulation 9, including giving of incentive marks to eligible in-service candidates,” the Bench, including Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, observed.
