Reservation on returned seats: PG med aspirants move court

With the registration process for admission to postgraduate medical and dental courses beginning earlier this month, some aspirants have sought legal recourse from

With the registration process for admission to postgraduate medical and dental courses beginning earlier this month, some aspirants have sought legal recourse from a 2018 state government resolution that applies reservation on returned seats.

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One of the writ petitions filed before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court (HC) seeks relief from reservation policy on returned seats from all-India quota. Returned seats are those that are not confirmed by candidates who are allotted these seats.

In Maharashtra, 50% of postgraduate medical seats are reserved for candidates from the state which includes open, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other backward classes. An additional 12% is reserved for Marathas and 10% for candidates from economically backward classes.

Until 2018, returned seats from all-India quota were divided among students from the same category. For example, open category seats were allotted to students from open categories, seats reserved for SC/ST students were allotted to students belonging to SC/ST communities.

However, in 2018, Maharashtra government issued a government resolution mentioning that the returned seats from all-India category would be divided among general and open category candidates, 50% for each category. This reservation policy, according to parents of petitioners, has affected students belonging to open categories.

In 2018, of the total 984 all-India quota seats in the state, 280 open category and 80 reserved seats were returned. However, following the GR, more than 80 open category seats were allotted to reserved categories.

“This is unjust towards open category students. We are asking that the returned open category seats be allotted to open category students,” said a parent of a petitioner, on the condition of anonymity.