In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision quashing the State of Uttar Pradesh's Government Order that reserved 30% of Post Graduate Medical Degree course seats for in-service candidates, as it violated the Medical Council of India Regulations 2000. However, the Court clarified that while such reservation is impermissible, the Regulations permissibly allow giving weightage marks (up to 30%) to in-service candidates who served in notified remote and difficult areas to determine merit. The Court directed that from Academic Year 2016-17 onwards, admissions must follow the Regulations strictly. The decision balanced protecting direct candidates' merit-based access with encouraging doctors to work in underserved rural areas, addressing a critical shortage of qualified physicians in such regions nationwide.
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