The Supreme Court has recently held the headlines, having deferred its decision regarding the provision of a 50% in-service reservation by state governments for admissions into super-speciality medical courses (Doctorate of Medicine/DM and Master of Chirurgiae/M. Ch.) in government colleges for the academic year 2020-21.
Key Developments
In August 2020, the Supreme Court permitted states to allocate reserved seats to in-service doctors for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) postgraduate degree courses. This ruling indicated that states possess the requisite legislative authority to institute a separate admission route for in-service applicants seeking entry to PG/diploma courses, enabled through powers vested under Entry 25, List III.
Understanding Entry 25 of List-III
Entry 25, List-III encompasses education, including technical education, medical education, universities, and vocational and technical training of labour, subject to the provisions of entries 63, 64, 65, and 66 of List I. The Constitution establishes a tripartite division of legislative subjects among the Union and the states, which includes List-I (the Union List), List-II (the State List), and List-III (the Concurrent List), detailed in the seventh schedule.
Reservation Move by Tamil Nadu Government
In November 2020, the Tamil Nadu government initiated counselling and filling up of 50% super-speciality seats in its government medical colleges via in-service candidates in the state. This would occur through selecting candidates who passed the NEET-Super Speciality Courses (SS), and the selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education would prepare the merit list and manage counselling. The state government justified this move by identifying the pressing need for super-speciality qualified doctors within both the medical academia and practice.
Distribution of Remaining Seats
Once 50% of the seats in DM/M. Ch. courses in government medical colleges are distributed to in-service candidates, the remaining are surrendered to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). DGHS, an attached organization of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is a repository of specialized knowledge on public health, medical education, and healthcare.
Discrepancies Raised by Doctors
However, this decision was met with opposition from certain factions of doctors, including PG holders who qualified in NEET 2020. They contested that there exists no concept of any reservation for admission into super-speciality medical courses. In order to substantiate their claims, they referred to the verdict in Dr Preeti Srivastava & Anr versus State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors, 1999, which stated, “merit, and merit alone, is the basis for admission at the super-speciality level”. Their appeal insisted that the state order contradicted the Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations of 2019, which stipulated that the DGHS should regulate the admission process. These regulations authorize the DGHS to administer counselling for all super-speciality courses in medical educational institutions under the purview of both the Central and state governments, deemed universities, as well as medical educational institutions founded by municipal bodies, trusts, etc.