HC issues notices to Rajasthan government, Centre, agencies on OBC quota in NEET

The Rajasthan high court on Monday issued notices to the state government, the central government, the Medical Council of India and the National Testing Agency, asking why the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation should be applicable to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test admissions.

The court issued the notices on petitions by the Samata Andolan Samiti and five students, who appeared for the NEET examination.

Shobhit Tiwari, advocate for the petitioners, said that the court has admitted the petitions and sought a reply by the respondents by July 12, the next date of hearing.

Tiwari said the central government has brought the 102nd constitutional amendment under which the reservation to the OBC can only be extended after the OBC list is notified by the President of India. In these circumstances, the admissions to the MBBS-BDS courses should proceed without there being any OBC reservation. But the respondents are proceeding with extension of benefit of reservation to OBC candidates in both All India and State quota seats, which his constitutionally illegal, said Tiwari.

Welcoming the development, Samata Andolan Samiti president Parashar Narayan Sharma said, “We had filed the writ against those affluent and empowered people who were taking benefit of the reservation at the cost of those who actually need the reservation. We hope that the court will put an end to some people taking unfair advantage of reservation as against those who actually need the benefit of reservation,” he said. The petitioners have argued that in Rajasthan the situation of erstwhile OBCS has been such that they are affluent and eating away a major share of seats ever meant for unreserved category.

The petition says that the cutoff list published by the recruiting agency showed that cut-offs for OBCS were higher than that of the unreserved category and lakhs of OBC candidates had qualified in the unreserved category cut-off.

The petitioners asked the court to pass a writ order or direction, whereby in NEET (UG) 2019 for admissions in MBBS and BDS courses, respondents be restrained to provide OBC/MBC reservation and seats reserved for OBCS/MBCS shall be treated as unreserved seats and that counselling be provided without any seats being reserved for OBC/MBC candidates after publication of revised cut-offs.