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The Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of the petition filed by the BDS degree holders aggrieved by the delay in the announcement of counselling date for NEET-MDS (Masters Course).
The bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah ordered that the Union Government and the Medical Counselling Committee shall comply with the said schedule in direct compliance for the MDS course 2021-22, for which the affidavit was submitted by the Union yesterday.
The affidavit filed by the Centre stated that it will conduct the counselling from August 20, 2021 till October 10, 2021. The affidavit further stated that the quota fixed to provide reservation to OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) will be 27 percent, as per the Central list of OBC and 10 percent reservation to the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) category, as per the Central government norms in All India Quota (AIQ) seats.
The petition was filed by dental surgeons, aggrieved by the delay in the announcement of counselling date for NEET-MDS (Masters Course). On an earlier date, a divisional bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice M.R. Shah observed that the petitioner candidates are doctors, who possess a recognised degree of Bachelor in Dental Surgery (BDS) awarded by a university or institute in India and registered with the State Dental Council.
They have also obtained provisional/permanent registration and undergone a compulsory internship of a year in a recognised dental college. The petitioners appeared in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-MDS 2021 conducted on December 16, 2020 by the National Board of Examination (NBE) for admission to the Master in Dental Surgery course (MDS). The bench further observed that since the result was declared on December 31, 2020, it has been around six months the candidate counselling is on hold, which is grave injustice to the candidates as their utmost valuable time is squandered.
The Union in its affidavit has submitted that the delay in commencing counselling is not intentional but due to the outcome of Madras High Court Judgment wherein the Union government through Health Services was directed to constitute a committee and finalise its recommendations in consultation with all the states, including Tamil Nadu regarding issue of OBC reservation in AIQ seats contributed by State Medical colleges under AIQ scheme. Further, this High Court order was challenged before the apex court but no stay was granted by the court and the same was disposed of.
The Union of India, in its office memorandum on July 30, 2021, has decided the reservation quota, while considering the judgement of Madras High Court, Supreme Court and report of the committee. The same is annexed along with Affidavit.