Shivangi Prakash-
The Madras High Court was informed today by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the Central Government is close to deciding on the implementation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in state-surrendered medical seats for the All India Quota (AIQ) in non-central medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.
The statement was submitted on behalf of the Central Government in response to a contempt petition filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which expressed worry that the OBC reservation would not be enforced this academic year, notwithstanding the High Court’s earlier ruling.
The Court had previously stated that the Central Government’s apparent attempt to delay the implementation of the OBC reservation this year amounted to Contempt of Court.
Solicitor General Mehta told the Court today that the Central Government is anticipated to decide in the matter soon, appearing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy.
“My request is your Lordships may have it on Monday. The decision at the central level is at a very, very advanced stage“, he submitted.
The Court, in turn, took down the submission and rescheduled the hearing for Tuesday.
The High Court had instructed the formation of a committee constituting of the Central Government, the State Government, the Medical Council of India, and the Dental Council of India, on July 27, 2020, to figure out how the OBC reservation can be implemented from the academic year 2021-2022.
The DMK’s contempt petition was filed in response to delays in implementing the OBC reservation for the current academic year, as ordered by the Supreme Court in July 2020.
Last week, the Court stated that entrance to the State’s medical colleges is now contingent on the implementation of such a reserve quota.
As a result, the Bench held that the Union’s position of deferring the implementation of the OBC reservation until the Supreme Court’s decision in the Saloni Kumari case was prima facie unsatisfactory.
The Court had given the putative contemnors a week to clarify their position on the matter. The Court has now delayed the case for another week in light of the Solicitor General’s remarks today.
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