Supreme Court rejects Maratha quota in PG medical

The Maharashtra government and pro-Maratha quota groups suffered a major setback on Thursday when the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition challenging the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court's order about the non-application of the Socially & Economically Backward Class (SEBC) Act or the 10 per cent Maratha reservation to PG medical and dental courses for the academic year 2019-20. Of the total 972 seats to be filled up, 213 seats could have been allocated to Maratha students.

The SC bench has upheld the HC order which said that the government's March 8 notification pertaining to SEBC quota in health science courses will not apply to PG dental and medical admissions, as the registration process for their National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Tests (NEET) had begun on October 16 and November 2, respectively.

The SC order has evoked angry reactions from the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM), students and opposition parties. The Congress party has blamed the state for not being serious on the implementation, while students criticised the government for not putting up strong argument.

The apex court has now given time between May 18 and May 25 to re-do the seat allocations as directed by the HC. The government now has two options: Increasing the seats to accommodate the aspirants or consider quota under the economically weaker section category.

Reservation expert Balasaheb Sarate derided the government for not moving the case sooner from the Nagpur bench to the HC and said, "The state should quickly use Section 17 of the SEBC Act to issue an order reinstating the admission process."

MKM demands

MKM convenor Vinod Patil said the government has been given two days to chalk out future line of action for providing relief to the aspirants