The Supreme Court affirmed yesterday that merit could not be reduced to narrow
definitions in an open competitive examination that only provides formal equality.
The bench justified allowing the EWS quota on the existing quota in the current academic
year.
It stated, “We are still amid the pandemic, and any delay in recruiting doctors would impact
our ability to manage it.”
It is imperative to stop any further delays in admissions and allow counselling to start
immediately.
The court ruled that Articles 16(4), 15(4) and 15(5) of the constitution use group
identification to achieve substantive equality.
However, this does not alter the fundamental rationale behind the reservation policy, which
seeks to remove the structural barriers disadvantaged groups face in moving forward in
society.
These barriers can be overcome by using the reserve.
It said that while the individual differences may be due to luck, privilege, or other
circumstances, they cannot be used to negate the importance of reservation in resolving
structural disadvantages suffered by certain groups.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud & A S Bopanna issued an order outlining the reasons
for maintaining the 27 per cent OBC reservation and allowing a 10% EWS quota for
existing criteria for NEET UG and PG for this academic year.
“In light of the above discussion, we believe that the reservation for OBC students in the
AIQ seats to UG and PG dental courses is constitutionally valid ..”,” the bench stated.
It stated that the NEET-2021 information bulletin specifies that NEET-PG reservations would
be notified before the commencement of counselling.
The distribution of the seat matrix is not disclosed to candidates who apply for NEET-PG.
The counselling authority only provides this information before the counselling session begins.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the rules of play were established when the examination
registration closed. The bench stated.
It stated, “The challenge to the constitutional validity of OBC reservations in AIQ seats,
made through the notice dated Jul 29, 2021, is rejected in light of the ongoing discussion.”
The bench addressed the question of OBC quota validity. It stated that merit could not be
reduced to performance in an open competitive examination, which provides only formal
equality of opportunity. While competitive examinations measure basic ability to allocate
education resources, they do not reflect excellence, capabilities, or potential. These are
shaped by life experiences, training and personal character.
According to the bench, the centre did not need to ask permission from this court to make
reservations in AIQ seats. Therefore, reservation in the AIQ seat is a policy decision that
will be subject to judicial review in the same way as every reservation policy.
The court ruled that open competitive examinations did not accurately reflect certain
classes’ socio-economic and cultural advantages and contributed to their success in such
examinations.
High scores on an exam are not a sign of merit. Merit should be socially contextualized.
It should be re-conceptualized to advance social goods such as equality, which we value.
“Reservation is not in conflict with merit, but it furthers its distributive effects,” said the bench.
It stated that the binary of merit or reservation is now obsolete because the Court
recognized substantive equality as the mandate under Article 14 and as an aspect of
Articles 15(1) and 16(1).
Justice Chandrachud wrote a 106-page verdict. He stated that the exclusionary merit
standard denotes dignity for those confronted with barriers in their advancement that are
not their own.
The court stated that the EWS quota is an established principle of law.
It added that unless the court is certain that the rules are prima facie arbitrarily arbitrary,
it must not pass interim orders in cases involving challenges to the constitution of legislation or rules.
“As a result, the bench allowed the implementation of EWS reservations in AIQ seats
NEET-UG seats and PG seats for the academic year 2021-2022.” Following the 2019 Office
Memorandum, the EWS category will be identified.
The top court announced that the NEET-PG 2021 counselling process was to be reopened.
It will be based on the existing 27% OBC and 10% EWS reservations in All India Quota seats.
Ajay Bhushan Panday, former finance secretary, VK Malhotra, member secretary, ICSSR,
Sanjeev Sanyal Principal Economic Adviser, Centre to review the criteria for determining
EWS, was a part of the three-member committee.
It had accepted the recommendations of the panel to keep the current gross annual family
income limit to define EWS at Rs 8.25 lakh or less.
