Madras HC upholds 7.5% quota for govt school students in Tamil Nadu’s medical colleges

Chennai: The Madras high court on Thursday upheld the 7.5% quota for government school students in Tamil Nadu’s medical colleges. A bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy gave the verdict while directing the state government to review the quota in five years. A detailed copy of the verdict was awaited.

Chief minister M K Stalin welcomed the order and called the quota a form of social justice. The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said the judgement is a huge victory as the quota will provide a level playing field for medical aspirants from the economically weaker sections.

An expert committee has also recommended the review of the quota and called for improving the standard of education in government schools. Those, who have studied from Class 6 to 12 in government schools and cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the all India exam for those seeking to pursue undergraduate medical courses, are eligible for the quota.

The previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government introduced the quota in 2020 after its efforts to scrap the NEET failed. It passed a bill for admissions to undergraduate courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicines, and homoeopathy on a preferential basis for students of government schools.

The governor did not give assent to the bill for over a month after it was unanimously passed.

The AIADMK government implemented the reservation through an executive order. DMK passed a bill for the second time for NEET to be abolished and for considering only Class 12 marks for medical admissions. This bill is pending with governor R N Ravi, who is yet to forward it to the President for his assent.

A batch of petitions was filed challenging the constitutional validity of the quota. Lawyer and DMK lawmaker P Wilson appeared on behalf of the government while senior counsel Kapil Sibal on those of other respondents. “This [high court order] is a huge victory for the DMK,” said Wilson.

The government argued the quota was meant to bridge the gap between the rural-urban and rich-poor sections in medical admissions. All political parties except the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu have opposed NEET as discriminatory.