Supreme Court nixes Maharashtra’s notification on EWS quota in PG medical courses

Stating that its view is “tentative”, the bench also observed that the “existing seats” cannot be subjected to the constitutional amendment passed by Parliament that provides reservation to EWS category students, as was done by the Maharashtra government in the present case. The Supreme Court, however, said that “it is always open for the Medical Council of India to sanction additional seats”.

READ | SC stops Maharashtra EWS quota: background of the case, explained

The vacation bench said its directions are interim in nature and will be operative until a final decision is taken on the plea filed by three students of general category.

The court also observed that the balance between the competing claims of parties involved would be upset if the reserved category students are allowed to take admission and at a later stage their admissions are found to be untenable. “We are happy with the order. We hope a similar judgment comes in SEBC case in High Court against the state government’s ordinance,” said one of the petitioners who filed an intervention application. —(With inputs from Mumbai)