HC rejects plea against 100% quota in PC-PNDT
2
Jaipur: A single judge bench of
Rajasthan High Court
rejected the petitions challenging complete reservation in PC-PNDT and related diploma programmes. The reservation applies exclusively to in-service doctors in Rajasthan or individuals who completed their MBBS from medical institutions within the state.
A single bench of Justice Sameer Jain gave this order while hearing the petition of Anoop Agarwal and others on May 21, with the order uploaded Tuesday.
"This is a policy decision of the govt, and it is also not against the provisions of the Constitution," the court said.
The petitioner said that on April 22, the NEET PG Counselling Board issued an advertisement and sought applications for conducting a six-month ultrasound training course under PC-PNDT.
"It was provided that in the first round, only doctors who have done MBBS from the state's medical colleges and in-service doctors will be included. If seats remain vacant after this, then in the second and subsequent rounds, those who have done MBBS from outside the state will be given a chance. We have challenged this and maintained that the National Medical Commission considers doctors who have done MBBS from anywhere in the country to be equal on the basis of merit," said Tanveer Ahamed, counsel for the petitioner.
In such a situation, the petitioner cannot be discriminated against on the basis of place for admission in this course.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Mahadevappa to discuss SC and ST employees benefits with min concerned
Mysuru: State social welfare and district minister HC Mahadevappa said that he would make his best efforts to get promotions and other benefits for SC and ST employees working in the department of rural development and panchayat raj institutions after discussing with the minister concerned. He was speaking after inaugurating the state-level convention of the RDPR department SC and ST employees and the newly formed RDPR department SC and ST Employees Association at the Senate Hall in Manasagangothri. "The state govt has constituted a committee to oversee the issues related to promotions for govt employees. Even the vigilance committee in the department of social welfare will take care of issues related to promotions," he said. The minister also highlighted the role of employees of the RDPR department in the development of villages, where 65% of the population lives in harmony. H e also recalled the contributions of BR Ambedkar, programmes in the Constitution for the empowerment of SC/STs, and other vulnerable sections in society. Ambedkar played a key role in granting voting rights to scheduled castes, tribes, and women in the country. Minister Mahadevappa also hailed the contributions of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in bringing the 74th amendment to the Constitution for the introduction of a three-tier system of local governance. This amendment also provided 50% reservation for women to be represented in panchayat bodies. Many SC and ST panchayat members, including women, were elected and enjoyed positions in decision-making bodies of the local governance system among 6,200 gram panchayats in the state, he said. Urilingapeddi Mutt Jnanaprakash Swami, MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, MLA AR Krishnamurthy, ZP CEO S Ukeshkumar, former Mayor Purushottam, and others were present.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Govt plans to increase reservation limits after fresh caste census: MLC
Mysuru: MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the state Congress govt will decide to increase the reservation limits beyond 50% for socially and educationally backward communities, including SC and STs, after a fresh caste census. The census is expected to commence on Sept 22, he claimed. Speaking at the RDPR department SC and ST employees convention, he said reservation is a must for socially and economically backward communities until the caste system exists in the country. "The upper and lower caste system still exists, and discrimination of people on caste and communal lines continues unabated," he said. Even though forward communities opposed providing promotion to SC and ST employees, chief minister Siddaramaiah introduced the legislation, he said. He also urged SC, ST and all backward communities to encourage education. Increasing the reservation limit beyond the 50% cap fixed by the Supreme Court by bringing necessary amendments to the Constitution is the only solution to provide justice to all communities, he said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
EC's refusal to accept Aadhaar as voter ID in Bihar is 'absurd': ADR
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has told the Supreme Court that the Election Commission's (EC) claim of having constitutional powers to verify voters' citizenship during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls contradicts earlier court rulings. According to a report by The Indian Express, ADR also criticised the EC for excluding Aadhaar and ration cards as acceptable proof of identity, calling the move 'patently absurd,' especially as Aadhaar is widely used for passports, caste certificates, and permanent residency documents. 'Grave fraud' in rush to revise rolls The ADR, the petitioner in the matter, argued that the EC has not provided valid reasons for hurrying through the revision ahead of Bihar's Assembly polls. The group described the process as a 'grave fraud' on the state's electorate. The revision exercise, announced on June 24, has been controversial due to its timing and new requirement that voters registered after 2003 must provide several documents to stay on the electoral rolls. This has raised fears that many legitimate voters could be disenfranchised. ADR has submitted its response to the EC's affidavit, filed on July 21. In that affidavit, the EC claimed that Article 326 of the Constitution permits it to verify the citizenship of voters and clarified that being removed from the electoral roll does not mean loss of citizenship. The matter will be heard next on 28 July. Citizenship verification against court judgments? ADR argued that the EC's claim of authority to verify citizenship goes against earlier Supreme Court decisions. It cited Lal Babu Hussain vs Union of India (1995), which stated that the burden of proving citizenship lies with new applicants, not existing voters. It also referenced Inderjit Barua vs ECI (1985), where the court held that being on the electoral roll is strong proof of citizenship, and the onus to disprove it lies with those who object. ADR criticised the EC's directive requiring voters added after 2003 to produce one of 11 specified documents, saying this wrongly shifts the burden of proof to voters. 'It is submitted that the SIR process shifts the onus of citizenship proof on all existing electors in a state, whose names were registered by the ECI through a due process,' ADR said. The group questioned why the existing legal procedures under the Representation of the People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 had to be replaced with a fresh set of documentation and a new form. ADR also said the EC had not provided any data showing foreign nationals or illegal migrants had been included in the electoral rolls. EC's Aadhaar rejection 'absurd' In its July 21 affidavit, the EC refused to accept the Supreme Court's suggestion to include Aadhaar, ration cards, and Voter ID as valid documents, arguing that Aadhaar and ration cards can be obtained using false papers. ADR countered that the EC's list of 11 acceptable documents is also open to fraud. It added, 'The fact that Aadhaar card is one of the documents accepted for obtaining Permanent Residence Certificate, OBC/SC/ST Certificate and for passport – makes ECI's rejection of Aadhar (which is most widely held document) under the instant SIR order patently absurd.' 'Violations' by officials ADR alleged that EC officials on the ground are not following the Commission's own rules. The June 24 guidelines required Block Level Officers (BLOs) to visit each home and provide two forms per voter. But ADR said many voters had not met any BLOs and had not signed any forms, yet their submissions were recorded online. 'Forms of even dead individuals have been reported to have been submitted,' it added. ADR also criticised the lack of a clear process for verifying these forms and documents, saying this gave Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) excessive powers that could lead to widespread disenfranchisement. Why target post-2003 voters? The EC's order says that the 2003 electoral roll is proof of citizenship for voters already registered. For those born after July 1, 1987, the EC asks for proof of citizenship from at least one parent. If the parent appears on the 2003 roll, the child may rely on that. ADR said this distinction was unfair and placed those registered after 2003 at 'a larger risk of disenfranchisement.' It also questioned why the EC had not submitted the 2003 revision order to the Court and asked for it to be produced. In contrast, during the 2004 revision exercise in the North East, only new voters had to submit documents, and that process took over six months (July 1, 2004 to January 3, 2005). In Bihar, the entire process is being compressed into three months -- from June 25 to September 30. 2025 roll already revised ADR also asked why a fresh revision is needed when the 2025 electoral roll was already updated and published in January this year. The group said the roll is regularly updated to account for deaths, migration, and other changes. ADR also highlighted an August 11, 2023 EC circular to state CEOs, directing them to delete names of electors who had died, moved, or were duplicates. The EC claimed the current SIR was being held in response to concerns raised by political parties. But ADR said, 'not a single political party had asked ECI for a de novo exercise such as the one prescribed in the instant SIR order'. Instead, parties had raised concerns about fake votes being added, genuine opposition voters being deleted, and irregular voting after polls had closed. Supreme Court's interim observations The case was first heard on July 10 by a vacation bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi. While the Court did not halt the process, it suggested the EC consider allowing Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents, in addition to the 11 listed. The EC was told to submit its affidavit by July 21, and the matter will be heard again on July 28. As of Friday, the EC said it had received forms from 72.3 million voters for inclusion in the draft roll. Around 6.5 million names are to be deleted due to death, permanent migration, duplicate entries, or because the voter was untraceable. Further deletions may occur after the draft roll is published. Between August 1 and September 1, those whose names are missing from the draft will be able to file claims and objections.
