10 pc quota for Pondy govt students in med admission illegal: Centre to HC

On recording the submission made by Additional Solicitor General Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the Centre, Justice B Pugalenthi adjourned it for further hearing to the first week of April. 

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Counsel P Wilson strongly opposed the rejection. He contended that the Centre’s stand would sound a death knell to the welfare of the students who are eligible for 7.5% reservations in Tamil Nadu as well. 

He further submitted that the Centre’s stand was against legislative power of a State under List III and against the constitutional bench decision judgment of the Supreme Court which approved such in-service reservations. Also, pointing out that a State has got ample power to grant in-service reservations in the interest of the welfare of students and that the Central government cannot term it as illegal, Wilson argued that the decision runs against the concept of social justice and several judgments of the SC. 

The Home Ministry, in its counter, had submitted that the proposal to provide 10% horizontal reservation (preferential admission) for Puducherry government school students in admission to MBBS and other medical courses after clearing NEET, excluding the seats in the All-India Quota, has been examined in consultation with the Ministry of Health - Family Welfare, DoPT and Ministry of Education (Department of Higher Education) Gol and this Ministry has not agreed to the proposal. 

Though the Puducherry cabinet had approved the exclusive reservation and forwarded the same, the then Lt Governor Krian Bedi had referred the matter to the Centre on the grounds that she differed with such reservation. Based on this, a student moved a plea seeking for a direction to the Centre to approve the 10% horizontal reservation provided to government schools students.