Madras High Court today directed the Medical Council of India (MCI) and Tamil Nadu government to file their stand on applicability of MCI regulations with respect to admission of in-service candidates to post-graduate medical courses for 2017-18.
A division bench comprising Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice RMT Teekaa Raman passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by in-service candidates challenging a single Judge's ruling related to grant of incentive marks.
The Single judge had held that incentive marks for in-service candidates should be awarded only based on the MCI's Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2000 and not on the basis of the prospectus issued by the state Government.
Senior counsel P Wilson, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that as per guidelines in existence, government doctors working in rural areas and hilly and remote localities shall be allotted one and two marks per year of service respectively.
He contended that as per a clause in National Board of Examinations, rules enacted by concerned states would be applicable for rural candidates, who are in service.
Hence, the states were empowered to conduct counseling for PG courses for state quota seats using the NEET PG marks along with the guidelines and reservation policies prevailing in the respective states, the counsel argued.
MCI's counsel V P Raman submitted the state governments were empowered to categorise the places and take a decision on granting additional marks, but should follow only the MCI regulations.
It was on the basis of the marks obtained by the candidates in the NEET, the state government had to prepare the list, he added.
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