Supreme Court strikes down EWS quota in Maharashtra medical courses

New Delhi: In a setback for the Maharashtra government, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's decision to introduce 10 per cent quota for academic year 2019-20 in the postgraduate medical courses.

The apex court said the state could not apply it after the admission process had already begun in November 2018.

At least 25 candidates from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category would be affected with this decision of the top court.

The court said the Maharashtra government could not change rule of the game while the game was on.

It said the Medical Council of India (MCI) could have created more seats rather than giving away from presently available seats. As such, the court said that EWS is not applicable to the existing seats in medical courses in the state.

The court also observed that while passing the order it kept in mind "balance and claim of equity, which may come at later stage".

The counsel for the state cited the ordinance passed by the government, but the court did not entertain it.