NEET PG, 2023 admission: Gauhati High Court stays counselling process till August 10

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has put on a stay on the ongoing counselling process for NEET PG, 2023 admission for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category till August 10, 2023.

A division bench of the Gauhati High Court had on August 2, 2023, raised concern over the implementation of the 15 per cent reservation of seats for OBC and MOBC candidates in the Postgraduate Degree and Diploma Courses in medical colleges of Assam. The court has sought clarification from the State Government regarding the absence of classification based on economic status (Non-Creamy Layer) for OBC reservations.

Addressing this query of the Gauhati High Court, the Assam Government today acknowledged an inadvertent error in the reservation process for the OBC category without qualifying that such reservations would be available only to Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) category candidates.

The Advocate General of Assam informed the division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Sushmita Phukan Khaund that “corrective measures are being taken to rectify the issue”. The petitioners, claiming to be candidates belonging to the OBC NCL category, expressed concern that due to the oversight in not specifying OBC reservation for NCL category, they may face challenges in securing admission to NEET PG degree courses for Assam State Quota seats in 2023. The petitioners had also approached the court seeking implementation of 27% reservation in Assam State-run Medical Colleges in the postgraduate courses. The petitioners were represented by senior advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar and assisted by advocate Sangjukta Jain.

To safeguard the interest of the petitioners, the court has issued an interim directive that the ongoing counselling process for NEET PG 2023 for OBC category seats “shall not be finalized without further directions from the Court”. The court put a stay on the ongoing counselling process for OBC category seats till August 10, 2023 when the next hearing in this case will take place.

The application form for online counselling for 50% Assam State Quota seats under NEET PG 2023 provided OBC/MOBC category without specifying NCL category. This oversight effectively treated OBC/MOBC candidates on par with General category candidates in terms of reservation. Additionally, the provisional state merit list lacked a distinction for the NCL category within OBC/MOBC candidates.

As per the central list of OBC, only OBC (NCL) category candidates are eligible for 27% reservation for counselling against All India 50% quota seats. Over the years, OBC candidates seeking admission to Assam’s medical colleges were admitted without a specific reference to their economic status.

Also Read:   34 students of ARMY IOCL Centre of Excellence clears NEET exam

Also Watch: