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Synopsis

The Madras High Court has recently refused to interfere with Regulation 9(4) of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 which permits the State Governments to provide incentives to in-service candidates participating in the open category of the Postgraduate Medical Admission Counselling.

Before the court, some PG medical seat aspirants had also assailed a government order by virtue of which the in-service candidates are allowed to participate in the open competition category with the advantage of additional weightage marks allotted to them for serving in rural, remote, and/or difficult areas and 50% of the State quota seats in the Post Graduate (MD, MS and MDS) Degree courses in Tamil Nadu Government Medical Colleges and Government seats in Self-Financing Medical Colleges affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R.Medical University are kept exclusively allocated for in-service doctors serving in Government Health Institutions in the State of Tamil Nadu.

The contention raised by the petitioners was that the policy decision to permit in-service doctors to participate in the open competition category and to further permit them to carry their weightage marks had caused a disproportionate effect.

They also argued that 50% of the State quota seats earmarked for the in-service candidates was disproportionate and arbitrary.

However, the court held that the object of the state government's decision was laudable and benevolent.

"The in-service candidates are to be encouraged to offer their services and expertise to the State. The Government faces public health crisis. The effective and competent medical treatment is required to be made available in rural, hilly and remote areas," observed the court. 

Court stressed that the object of giving incentive marks to the in-service candidates was to bring them on par with the non-service candidates and candidates working in urban areas.

"The very purpose and object of giving weightage to the candidates who have served in rural, remote or hilly areas is to overcome the disadvantage they suffered because of working in such difficult conditions and to enable them to compete with the candidates who have directly, after their MBBS course, appeared for the NEET Postgraduate examination. It needs to be considered that those candidates who have rendered service in urban area are not given any weightage marks They are kept on par with other open category candidates," said the court.

Therefore, while disposing of the writ petitions, court said, "The courts would be extremely slow in interfering with the policy decision, that too, concerning the academic and educational field, unless it is shown that the policy decision is against the statutes or is manifestly arbitrary".

Case Title: DR.GURUBARAN AND OTHERS V. UOI AND OTHERS