NEET UG, PG Counselling 2021: Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota

The Supreme Court of India on Friday said it has upheld the constitutional validity of the 27 percent reservation for OBC in NEET UG and PG. For the EWS category, 10 percent reservation will apply this year as per existing criteria and the prospective ruling will be decided on a final hearing on 3 March, 2022.

The bench of justices led by Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna pronounced the verdict at 10:30 am today.

This now implies that 27 percent of the seats will be reserved for OBCs and 10 percent of them for those in the EWS category. The annual income criteria of Rs 8 lakh for the Economically Weaker Section category, or EWS, was also upheld. However, a final verdict on the matter will be passed on 3 March.

Also read: NEET PG Counselling: Supreme Court to give order on EWS case today, a look at what the case is all about

The schedule for NEET-UG and NEET PG counselling 2021 dates is to be expected soon. The official websites www.neet.nic.in 2021, nbe.edu.in will update the NEET counselling 2021 details.

"We accept the Pandey committee report. Counselling for NEET PG AND UG will be taken place in consonance with the notification as given effect to the in-office memorandum. Criteria mentioned identifying EWS will be used for NEET PG AND UG. The Pandey committee report will be subject to the final validity of the subject assailed," the Court said in its interim order as per Bar&Bench.

Justice Chandrachud said, "We have upheld the constitutional validity of 27 percent reservation for OBC in NEET PG and UG. For EWS this year the 10 percent will apply for this year and the prospective ruling will be decided on a final EWS hearing to be held on March 3, 2022."

The NEET PG counselling 2021 was scheduled to commence on 25 October, but was deferred till further notice due to the intervention of the apex court.

The case relates to petitions challenging reservation for OBC and EWS introduced by the Central government in the AIQ seats in State government medical institutions.

The matter pending before the court has been filed by resident doctors who have challenged a 29 July 2021 notification by the Centre introducing 27 percent OBC quota and 10 percent EWS quota in the NEET all-India quota seats. The petitions questioned the basis for applying the EWS quota, and said that such reservation would exceed the 50 percent benchmark set by the top court in its earlier decisions since there is also a 22.5 percent reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

The Centre had formed a review committee comprising Ajay Bhushan Pandey, former finance secretary; Professor VK Malhotra, member secretary, ICSSR; and Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India. The committee had submitted its report on 31 December, supporting the Rs 8 lakh income threshold as a “reasonable” basis to determine EWS.

“The current gross annual family income limit for EWS of Rs 8 lakh or less may be retained. In other words, only those families whose annual income is up to Rs 8 lakh would be eligible to get the benefit of EWS reservation,” the report said.

With inputs from agencies

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