SC tells Maha govt to finish PG counselling by June 14

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Maharashtra government to hold 'final' counselling for general candidates who got admission to PG medical and dental seats by June 14 after its order declaring there can't be 10 % quota for economically weaker sections this year.

A bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah ordered the state government to give this order wide publicity to enable the candidates to avail the opportunity.
The court extended the deadline from June 4 to 14.

The court, however, clarified that the candidates would not be allowed to change preferences made at the time of filling up the admission form.

The court also pulled up the Maharashtra and the Centre for "creating a mess and trouble for the candidates" desirous for admission to medical courses.

Earlier too, the court had chided the Maharashtra government for failing to revise and reshuffle admission list in PG medical and dental courses after it declared 10 % EWS quota can't be extended this year.

The court had on May 31 warned the Maharashtra counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar for trying to "overreach" the order passed by the bench led by the CJI on Thursday.

Some general category students, contended that the state government had on Thursday evening come out with a notification stating that the admissions already undertaken would not be disturbed.

They said with the apex court's order declaring 10 % reservation for the economically weaker sections can't be extended as additional seats were not created, the position of general category students was to be revised and reshuffled.

The state government counsel said there was little time to reshuffle as May 31 is the last date for admission. He said the state government would comply to the order but the additional time must be given for it.

"When this court specifically directed that the notification dated February 12 and March 7 shall not be applicable in 2019-20, necessary consequences of reshuffling must follow," the bench said.

The top court had stayed the notification, saying it was in teeth of orders and tantamount to not giving it to full effect.

It had then extended the time till June 4 for completing the admission process.