Reservation: Validity of OBC & EWS Reservation in NEET Admissions

 FACTS 

Many state governments reserved seats for domicile students in medical colleges, which excluded students from other states. Pursuant to this, in Dr. Pradeep Jain v Union of India (1986), the SC placed a cap on the proportion of seats that a State government can reserve for domicile students in medical colleges. The unreserved seats formed the All India Quota (AIQ), which provided domicile-free, merit-based seats to medical students. The issue afterwards arose whether the Union government could provide other kinds of reservation like SC/STs, OBCs, EWS, women and persons with disabilities) in the AIQ In Abhay Nath v. University of Delhi (2006), the SC held that 22.5% of reservations (15% for Scheduled Castes and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes) should be included in AIQ.

In 2021, a notification was issued by the Directorate General of Health Services of the Ministry of Health, which provided 27% and 10% reservations for OBC and Economically Weaker Sections for undergraduate and postgraduate AIQ seats under NEET.

Several writ petitions were filed by general category aspirants and doctors on the ground that the 2021 Admissions Notice violates their fundamental rights, and amounts to reverse discrimination, and the added reservation on the AIQ crosses the 50% limit on reservations laid down in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992).

 WHAT DID THE COURT SAY? 

A Division Bench of SC upheld the validity of quota for OBC in NEET exams in All India Quota seats for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses. The Court observed that “reservation is not at odds with merit” in open competitive examinations. 

The top court held it is the Centre’s prerogative to provide reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) seats & granting reservation in the AIQ seats is a policy decision of the government, although it is subject to judicial review similar to every reservation policy. 

Further, the Court observed that the power of the government to provide reservations under Article 15 (4) and (5) of the Constitution is not an “exception” to Article 15(1) and the power of the government to provide reservation for the OBC strengthens the idea of "substantive equality" embodied in Article 15(1).