Merit Is Above Seniority: Supreme Court

Admissions to post-graduate medical courses can be done only through the common entrance examination, the Supreme Court said quashing the Kerala government's decision to reserve seats for doctors working in its hospitals. The apex court division bench consisting of Justices T S Thakur and R Banumathi said that the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations of the Medical Council of India, 2000 were binding and that the state governments have no right to take any decision to violate the regulations.

Delivering its judgement the bench said, "Regulation 9 of MCI says a complete code by itself inasmuch it prescribes the basis of determining the eligibility of the candidates including the method to be adopted for determining the merit which remains the only basis for such admissions. The performance in the entrance test can be added weightage on account of rural service rendered by the candidates".

 When a certain percentage of mark is required to qualify the entrance test for the admission to the institutions for higher education including higher medical education are fixed, the state government cannot adversely change the standards set by the union government and MCI. Candidates who are in practice and seeking PG seats cannot be granted admission only on the basis of their seniority.

The apex court, however, objected to the observation made by the High Court in which it said that seniority of in-service candidates should be considered while preparing merit list. According to the bench "A meritorious in-service candidate cannot be denied admission only because he has an eligible senior above him though lower in merit. It is now fairly well settled that merit and merit alone can be the basis of admission. Their merit cannot be overlooked only to promote seniority which has no place in the scheme of MCI regulations".