The Supreme Court confirmed the validity of 27 per cent OBC reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) seats in the NEET for UG and PG medical courses and said that “Merit cannot be decreased to limit performance in an open competitive examination which only gives formal equality of opportunity,” an SC bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna said. “Competitive examinations check current basic competency to assign educational resources but are not a reflection of excellence, capabilities and potential of a student which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training and individual character,” it added.

In view of this, the SC passed an order having reasons for upholding the 27 per cent OBC reservation and permitting a 10 per cent EWS quota on existing criteria for this year. “We are still in the middle of the Covid pandemic, and any delay in the recruitment of doctors will impact the ability to manage the pandemic. Hence, it is important to avoid any further delays in the counselling process,” it added.

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On the EWS quota, the SC said that the petitioner’s argument on quota validity was not limited to the permissibility of reservations in the AIQ seats. As a result, we allow the execution of EWS reservations in AIQ seats in NEET UG and PG seats for the academic year of 2021-2022. On 7th January, the SC opened the way for beginning the NEET-PG 2021 counselling process on the existing 27 per cent OBC and 10 per cent EWS reservations in the AIQ seats, saying there is an urgent need to start the admission process.