NEET PG 2022 Candidates move Supreme Court seeking clarity on EWS Criteria
New Delhi: Seeking clarity on the applicability of EWS criteria in PG medical admissions for the academic year 2022-23, NEET PG 2022 candidates have moved the Supreme Court of India.
The petitioner doctors have sought directions to the Centre to specify in the NEET PG 2022 Information Bulletin that the EWS criteria for session 2022-23 would be decided in terms of the petitions challenging the amended reservation policy (27 per cent OBC and 10 per cent EWS in the All-India Quota category) in Neil Aurelio Nunes v. Union of India.
Earlier in January, the top court bench of honourable Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna had upheld the constitutionality of 27% OBC reservation and permitted 10% EWS under existing criteria for 2021 PG medical admissions to cutback further delay to the NEET PG Counselling. However, future application of EWS criteria (having Rs 8 lakh annual income limit set for determining the Economically Weaker Sections' candidates), which has been stipulated in the Office Memorandum of July 2019, will be subject to final outcome of the concerned petitions which were adjourned for a hearing in March.
According to a recent report by Livelaw, the petitioner NEET PG candidates, besides the directions to the centre to specify on EWS criteria application, have sought relief for implementing the Top Court's final decision in the matter of Dr Neil Nunes for NEET PG 2022-23 and for extension of the registration deadline till final adjudication of the matter.
They contended that the Rs 8-lakh cut-off for inclusion in the EWS category can't be implemented for NEET PG 2022 since the issue was still pending before the top court.
"That upon receipt of the Information Bulletin, the candidates made umpteen efforts to reach out to the Respondents and also issued a representation to the Respondents, in order to seek clarity with respect to the EWS criteria, however, all attempts were in vain," the petition states.
The aspirants, aggrieved by clause 8.26 of the Information Bulletin, want its modification to the extent it restricts a candidate from changing the category after online registration on or before February 4, 2022. Hence, The petitioners have prayed for the candidates be allowed to fill in the EWS category after the deadline as per the court's decision on petitions challenging the EWS criteria.
The doctors have further urged the top court to extend the date for "edit window" from February 11, 2022, and include the category change option to enable them to choose the EWS category after the final decision in case.
The bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud would hear the matter on Monday.
