Plea to scrap 70% regional quota in medical colleges rejected by HC

Seventy per cent seats in medical and dental colleges will continue to be reserved for candidates from the region where the colleges are located. The Bombay high

Seventy per cent seats in medical and dental colleges will continue to be reserved for candidates from the region where the colleges are located. The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by a medical aspirant from Osmanabad, requesting the HC to scrap the regional quota during the institutional round of admission.

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In Maharashtra, 15% of the total seats in medical and dental colleges are reserved for students from across the country under the all-India quota. Of the remaining 85% seats, the government has, since 2016, reserved 70% seats for candidates hailing from the region where the college is located.

The petitioner in the case, Adesh Mote, had moved the HC, requesting the regional quota be scrapped. Mote claimed that he had applied for admission in colleges in Nagpur and Solapur, but was denied seats owing to the regional quota, as he hails from the Marathwada region. The seats he applied for were in Vidarbha and Madhya Maharashtra regions.

Mote claimed that he was denied seats despite scoring good marks in the National Eligibility Entrance Test as the seats were already filled by students from Vidarbha and Madhya Maharashtra and sought to scrap the quota. His petition was, however, rejected by the court.