SC allows Tamil Nadu to reserve 50% of super speciality medical seats

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Tamil Nadu government to give 50 per cent reservation in Super Speciality seats (DM/M Ch) for in-service candidates in government medical colleges in the state in the 2021-22 academic year, in terms of an order issued on November 7, 2020.

A bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai rejected a plea by Dr N Karthikeyan and others, for granting interim protection as issued by the top court for the academic year 2020-2021.

The top court said it found prima facie, difficult to accept a proposition made on behalf of the petitioners, that the Constitution bench judgement in 'Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association' case, which clearly allowed the state to provide a separate channel or source of entry or reservation for in-service candidates in postgraduate degree/diploma courses, cannot be made applicable to Super Speciality seats.

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The bench, however, clarified that the present order was being passed only on prima facie considerations and the matter would be taken up for final hearing after Holi vacations.

The state government, for its part, said on account of the non-availability of the candidates with degrees in super specialisation, as many as 49 vacancies for the posts of Professors/Associate Professors and 58 vacancies for the posts of Assistant Professors could not be filled up.

"All the candidates selected through in-service channels for the super speciality courses at the time of joining are required to execute a bond that they will serve the government till their superannuation," it said.

The state government also said most of the candidates selected through an open channel leave after serving a bond period of two years or even prior to that by paying the bond money.

The Union government, however, supported the petitioners against granting any reservation for in-service candidates in super speciality courses.

The petitioners, in their plea, submitted that there cannot be any reservation for admission in super speciality courses as per a nine-judge bench decision (1992) in Indra Sawhney (Mandal Commission) case.

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