The Madras High Court on Thursday, dismissed appeals preferred against the State government’s decision to not only reserve 50% postgraduate medical seats for government doctors serving in villages and hilly areas, but to also provide incentive marks for them so that they could compete better even in the remaining 50% seats.
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A Division Bench of Justices Paresh Upadhyay and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup rejected the writ appeals preferred by a group of non-government service candidates and upheld the validity of a judgement passed by Justice M. Dhandapani on January 19 in favour of the decision taken by the government.
The judges, however, clarified that their verdict would apply only to the admissions for the present academic year and that it would be open to the litigants to file fresh cases in the future. They said, it would not be appropriate for the court to interfere with the government’s decision at the present stage.
Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran and senior counsel P. Wilson, Isaac Mohanlal and E. Manoharan, representing various government in-service candidates, had contended that the incentive marks were awarded for postgraduate studies with the laudable objective of encouraging doctors to serve in remote and hilly areas. Otherwise, the public health system would get weakened and make medical assistance a distant dream for those residing in remote localities, they argued.
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The AAG brought it to the notice of the court that the government had decided not to grant any incentive mark in postgraduate admissions for doctors serving in urban areas. Only those who serve in difficult areas in the hills were awarded 10 marks per year and those who serve in the difficult areas in the plains were awarded 9 marks per year. Similarly, those who serve in remote areas were given 8 marks per year and the doctors serving in places classified as rural areas were given 5 marks per year.
“The incentive marks are given as a recognition to doctors who forego all comforts during the prime of their youth and come forward to serve the people in remote localities,” the AAG said.