The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition challenging a Maharashtra government ordinance allowing 16 per cent quota for Marathas in admission to Postgraduate medical and dental courses this year.
A vacation Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai noted that the admission process for academic session 2019-20 had concluded on June 17 and any order now “will lead to chaos”.
“We, however, clarify that we have not commented on the question of validity of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, which is the subject matter of challenge before the Bombay High Court in a group of writ petition(s), in which judgment has been reserved,” the Bench clarified.
The court was hearing a petition by Nagpur resident Sameer against a decision of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court declining his plea challenging the government’s decision to grant Maratha reservation for admissions in PG medical courses for the current academic session though an ordinance.
The High Court had not considered the plea in view of the apex court’s June 4 order that restrains any other court from entertaining any plea related to admission to PG medical courses.
Sameer, in his petition, stated that the government, contrary to the provisions of the Act, had applied reservation by reserving 16 per cent seats for the SEBC candidates for the current academic year where the admission process had commenced.
On May 2, the High Court held the application of reservation of 16 per cent for the current academic session for the MDS, MD/MS courses as illegal. This was later upheld by the apex court.
Subsequently, the government brought in an ordinance to provide quota under the SEBC Act 2018, to candidates from the Maratha community in the PG courses this academic year.
