Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. (File photo)THE MADHYA Pradesh High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation of the ordinance issued by the Congress government to increase reservation for OBCs in the state from 14 to 27 per cent.
A division bench of justices R S Jha and Sanjay Dwiwedi issued notices and sought replies within two weeks from the director of medical education department and the principal secretary (medical education department).
MBBS students Ashita Dubey, Richa Pandey and Suman Singh, who had appeared for NEET 2019 for admissions to post-graduate medical courses, had challenged the ordinance on grounds that it violated provisions under Article 16(4) of the Constitution, said their counsel Aditya Sanghi. He argued that the ordinance took the reservation to 63 per cent, breaching the 50 per cent cap on reservation.
It is directed that the respondents shall not provide reservation of more than 14 per cent for the OBC category in admission made to colleges on the strength of the ordinance which is a subject matter of this petition, the court said.
Reacting to the court’s interim order, Chief Minister Kamal Nath the government will consult legal experts and submit its reply within a week. “We are committed to providing reservation to OBCs and will always work for their betterment,’’ he said, adding that reservation in Tamil Nadu exceeds 50 per cent. —With PTI
