The centre has urged the Supreme Court to take up petitions challenging the criteria for economically weaker sections in the NEET-PG admissions, saying there was a genuine urgency in the matter.
The bench headed by Justice Chandrachud had enquired the centre to explain what exercises were undertaken to arrive at the Rs. 8 Lakh annual income ceiling for being eligible for this quota. The Centre told the court on November 25, 2021, that it would revisit the criteria and sought four weeks to complete the exercise. The court then fixed the next hearing for January 6, 2022.
On 31st December 2021, the govt filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that it had accepted the recommendations made by a committee set up by it and decided to retain the Rs 8 lakh income ceiling for the current admission cycle. Recommendations on how to apply the income limit would be adopted from the next admission cycle.
The petitions have challenged the July 29 notification of the medical counselling committee providing 27% reservations for OBC's and 10% for the EWS in the non-reserved category.