Medical, dental admissions in Maharashtra: Petitioner against 70% regional quota rule will move SC

After the Bombay high court (HC) recently rejected a plea to scrap the 70% regional quota from institutional admission rounds for medical and dental courses in the

After the Bombay high court (HC) recently rejected a plea to scrap the 70% regional quota from institutional admission rounds for medical and dental courses in the state, the petitioner in the case has now decided to move Supreme Court (SC).

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“The Bombay HC heard our point of view and even though the verdict was not in our favour, we will seek help from the Apex Court and hope for the best,” said Satish Talekar, counsellor representing the petitioner, who is a medical aspirant.

In Maharashtra, 85% of the total seats in medical and dental colleges are allotted through the common admission process (CAP), while the remaining 15% of seats are reserved for students from across the country under the all-India quota. Seats left vacant after three CAP rounds are then handed over to individual institutes for institutional rounds. Since 2016, the state government has introduced a 70% reservation on these seats for candidates hailing from the region where the college is located.

The petition was filed last month by Adesh Mote, a medical aspirant from Osmanabad, who had requested for the scrapping of the regional quota. Mote claimed that he had applied for admission in colleges situated 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 central Maharashtra regions.

Officials from the state common entrance test (CET) cell have received a series of complaints from students about this rule but are helpless.

“Many students, especially from Marathwada region, have highlighted how there are only a handful of private medical colleges in their region, so the 70% regional quota doesn’t help their cause. But the court was very clear that for one particular region, they can’t change the admission rule,” said Anand Rayate, commissioner, state CET cell.

He added that until further notice from the Apex Court, state government will go by the regional quota rule.