Gauhati High Court on Monday stayed the admission of students under Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Minorities and Other Backward Classes (MOBC) quotas in medical colleges for NEET Postgraduate (PG) in Assam till August 10.
This comes after a few candidates filed a petition in the high court alleging inadvertent errors in the reservation process.
Addressing the previous query dated August 2, 2023, of the Gauhati High Court concerning NEET PG, 2023 admissions for the Other Backward Classes (O.B.C.) category, the Assam State Government acknowledged an unintentional error in the reservation process for the OBC category without qualifying that such reservation would be available only to N.C.L. (Non-Creamy Layer) category candidates.
Appearing for the state, Advocate General Devajit Saikia informed the Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Sushmita Phukan Khaund that corrective measures are being taken to rectify the issue.
Meanwhile, the petitioners, claiming to be candidates belonging to the OBC N.C.L. 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 Post Graduate Courses.
In light of these circumstances and to safeguard the interest of the petitioners, the Court issued an interim directive that ‘in the ongoing counseling process, it will provisionally include the concerned parties so far as the OBC category seats are concerned in NEET PG 2023 and which shall not be finalized without further directions from the Court’.
The case is directed again to be listed on 10th of August, 2023.
