An application was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday for a modification of its June 4 order restraining students from changing their original option/preference for seats in the postgraduate medical and dental courses in Maharashtra for the academic year 2019-2020.
The application sought that the court allow students to seek a fresh choice of seats, including seats reverted from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category to general category.
The application said seats should be allotted to already registered and qualified medical students during manual (physical) counselling, in accordance with merit, without insisting upon previous choice/options exercised by the applicants.
The application filed by Sagar Damodar Sarda said the original exercise of options by the applicants and other qualified students “cannot be termed a valid exercise in facts of the given case when the said exercise was itself restricted by operation of EWS quota, which is now not applicable for the current academic year.”
It said the “provisional seat position of postgraduate courses in government/ government-aided/ BMC and central government medical colleges, published by the Government of Maharashtra, State Common Entrance Cell would further reveal that there were several seats, discipline wise – college wise which were earmarked for EWS students (only); before the said reservation scheme (for EWS) was directed not to be applicable for this academic year 2019-2020” by the apex court on May 30.
The application alleged that the authorities, even after the issuance of directions by the court, did not call for fresh choice-filing, to enable students in order of merit to participate afresh in the recounseling process.
“The inaction has seriously prejudiced rights of the applicants and is arbitrary and malfide exercise of powers; antithesis to the concept of rule of law,” the application submitted.
On June 4, the court directed the Maharashtra government to hold the last round of physical counselling for postgraduate medical and dental seats by June 14.
The June 4 order followed an interim direction in May to the State to not implement the 10% economic quota for the admissions for the 2019-20 academic year. The government had issued two notifications in February and March 2019 to implement the 10% reservation for the economically-deprived classes. They were stayed by the court in a recent order.
The court had slammed the government for “creating a mess” and troubling candidates who aspire to become postgraduates.
