The Supreme Court has listed for hearing on Wednesday a batch of petitions challenging the quota criteria for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in medical studies, in line with its consent to hear the matter expeditiously.
The government’s decision to fix an annual income of Rs 8 lakh for eligibility for the EWS quota under the all-India category seats has been challenged in the top court, with the Centre’s failure to explain the rationale holding up admissions to postgraduate courses, stretching thin limited resources at hospitals amid the pandemic and spawning countrywide protests by resident doctors.
According to the official cause list, the matter will be heard on Wednesday by a special three-judge bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and A.S. Bopanna.
Government sources said the Centre had over the weekend requested the court to allow it to go ahead with the quota this year as it was already very late and promised to settle the matter for the next session. The government is believed to have told the court that the committee the Centre had formed to look into the EWS quota ceiling ha also given the same advice.
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Tuesday accepted the Centre’s application for urgent hearing, sumbitted by solicitor-general Tushar Mehta who cited the delay in counselling to admit students to postgraduate medical courses and the protests.
On November 25 last year, Mehta had told the apex court that the Centre had decided to revisit the Rs 8 lakh criteria fixed for the EWS category under the all-India pool seats for this year’s NEET-PG courses and that the counselling process would be on hold till clarity emerged.
Mehta had also informed the court that a committee was being constituted by the Centre to evaluate the EWS income ceiling.
The development had come against the backdrop of the Supreme Court asking searching questions during the earlier hearing on October 21 on the logic behind fixing an annual income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh for the EWS category, the same as the one used to identify the creamy layer among other backward class (OBC) students for exclusion from quota benefits.
The bench headed by Justice Chandrachud had at one stage threatened to stay the implementation of the EWS reservation benefit.
The court had said under the constitutional scheme, OBCs suffer from social and educational backwardness and there is a logic behind stipulating an annual family income of Rs 8 lakh to identify the creamy layer. It had said the same yardstick could not be applied to EWS candidates, who were only economically backward.
The court had directed the Centre to justify the EWS criterion by posing the following questions:
⚫ Has the Centre determined any criteria to implement the Rs 8-lakh ceiling for the EWS quota?
⚫ Had the 2010 report of the Major Gen. S.R. Sinho (Retd) Commission been considered before ascertaining the criteria? The report has to be placed on record before the court.
The commission, constituted by the UPA government, had recommended welfare measures for the EWS category.
⚫ Had the difference in rural and urban purchasing power been accounted for while deriving the income limit?
⚫ Were any criteria adopted for distinguishing between beneficiaries in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas?
A bench of CJI Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli on Tuesday took note of the Centre’s plea for urgent hearing, which said: “It concerns EWS of the society. There’s a statement made by us which prevents further counselling of resident doctors.”
“Resident doctors are protesting and their concerns are genuine,” Mehta said.
CJI Ramana replied: “The problem is it is a three-judge bench matter, this entire week is a miscellaneous week. Let me see if tomorrow some judge is available, we will constitute a bench. Let me see. If possible, I will constitute a three-judge bench or it will go before a division bench tomorrow.”
