When the plea moved by a student challenging the provision came up, a division bench comprising Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice MS Ramesh refused to either reserve a seat for her or offer a direction that the government school students’ admission would be subject to the result of the case.

Leading the bench, Justice Vineet Kothari cited a Supreme Court order that students should not be seen as enemies and instead as own children, and said: “We don’t want a sword hanging over the heads of poor students by such a direction, especially when admissions under the 7.5 per cent reservation is already over.” The counsel appearing for the student submitted that the classification was unreasonable and arbitrary, so much so that the petitioner had managed to score over 565 marks in her third attempt but yet failed to get a seat due to the 7.5 per cent reservation. He pointed out that students with scores as low as 130 were able find admission in medical colleges by virtue of studying in a government school until Class 12, alleging that the quota was bound to usher in mediocrity.

Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that though more than 40 per cent of students who pass Class 12 are from government schools, only less than one per cent of them managed to get medical admission. Accounting for the cognitive gap and socioeconomic conditions of the students compared to the advantage of those in private schools who could afford tuition and coaching, the government provided the quota to enable them obtain medical seats. This would also improve the number of doctors in rural areas, he claimed.

Even as it lauded it as a good social measure that could be emulated by other states, the bench also sought the State to take efforts to improve the standards in government schools.

Finding that a single judge had quashed a challenge to the GO and similar pleas were pending, the bench suggested clubbing of all the pleas and posted the present case for further hearing after four weeks while seeking for government response by then.