The Centre on Friday told the Madras High Court that it was in favour of providing State-specific reservations to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the seats surrendered by State governments to All India quota medical seats in non-central institutions subject to a condition that overall reservations should not exceed 50% of the total seats available every year.
In a counter affidavit filed before a Division Bench of Justices R. Subbiah and Krishnan Ramasamy, the Centre has also said such reservations could be provided depending upon the orders to be passed by the Supreme Court in Saloni Kumar’s case pending since 2015. That case was expected to be heard next by the apex court on July 8, it added.
The counter was filed in response to a batch of writ petitions filed by the DK, DMK, AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and the State government too seeking 50% reservations for the OBCs.
Criticising the parties for having chosen to file the case only now, the Centre claimed that OBCs were not given reservations in All India quota seats in non-central institutions since 1986. “While so, the petitioners have filed these writ petitions at this distance of time challenging the results published by Directorate General of Health Services on April 11 for postgraduate medical seats.
“The present method of selection has been followed even when most of the petitioners (political parties) were in power through their alliances in the past,” it said and stated that Saloni Kumar’s case had actually been filed seeking 27% reservations for OBCs in All India quota seats in non-central institutions too as it was being provided in central institutions.
Since the matter was still sub judice, the present petitioners before the High Court could be directed to get themselves impleaded in the case before the Supreme Court. It said the Centre was willing to provide reservations to OBCs too without disturbing the present reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The number of seats could be increased proportionately with the cooperation of all States and on implementation of the State-specific reservation policy for SCs, STs and OBCs, the State governments would have to contribute to All India quota seats category wise, including the seats reserved for the physically challenged, by maintaining a reservation roster at college/State level, it concluded.
The Bench led by Justice Subbiah is expected to take up the batch of cases on Monday.
