Doctors move HC against ‘retrospective quota for Jats’ in DU

The petitioners also alleged that the government decision was in violation of the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

During arguments before the court of acting Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul on Monday, advocate Manoj Goel, appearing for the doctors, said the addition of the Jat candidates to the OBC quota would “directly affect” the petitioners. Goel claimed that since the Jat candidates had scored higher on the merit list, they would “push out” other OBC candidates from their preferred courses.
The court, however, declined to issue a stay on the admission process, but issued notice to the University and to the Central government, seeking detailed responses to the plea.

DU has also been asked to give details of the schedule of the postgraduate medical admissions, while Additional Solicitor General Rajive Mehra has been asked to apprise the court of the decisions of the NCBC and the process through which the government took the decision to issue the notification.

The entrance exam for the postgraduate medical courses was held in November, and the tentative merit lists were drawn up in February. The Ministry of Social Justice issued its notification, adding Jats to the OBC category on March 4, following which DU modified its merit lists and included jats in the OBC category on March 21. According to the plea filed by the doctors, the process of applications for the postgraduate courses was to be closed by March 20.

“DU is shifting more than 20 Jat candidates from general to OBC category. This illegal exercise will seriously dent the prospects of the petitioners and almost surely result in all of them being deprived of the subject of choice if the Jat candidates are considered along with them against the OBC reserved seats,” the plea stated.

Mohinder J S Rupal, advocate for DU, defended the decision, arguing that the candidates could be allowed a change in category.

Alleging that the “circumstances and backdrop” of passing the March 4 resolution “shows a tearing hurry on the part of the Central government”, the plea said the NCBC had earlier rejected the proposal for including the community under the OBC category and had then agreed to conduct a survey to determine whether the Jats could be added to the OBC category.

The petitioners have alleged that the government had “scuttled” the survey and “overlooked the material on record” for “extraneous considerations and political pulls and pressures”.

The court declined to issue a stay on the admission process, noting that the court could not interfere in a policy decision at an early stage.